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The Scorpio Races

Action/Adventure, Fae/Faerie/Pixies, Grades 9-12, Paranormal, Romance, Stiefvater, Maggie No Responses »

Mar 222012

Maggie Steifvater, bestselling author of the Shiver series, has authored an original and intriguing story entitled The Scorpio Races. It is a well-written and intricate story of adventure and romance intertwined with the myth of the water horse. With detailed descriptions of the setting of the story, the beautiful and wild island of Thisby, it is easy to imagine yourself there. It is as much a love story about horses as it is the developing love story between Sean and Puck. Horse lovers as well as fans of Steifvater’s works should love this offering. Not to be confused with the Shiver series, however, the story of The Scorpio Races is completely different. It also develops more slowly and is more lengthy. Unfortunately, the story concludes without a definitive ending and unanswered questions.

Nineteen-year-old Sean Kendrick is the four time winner and the returning champion of The Scorpio Races. Every November, riders attempt to ride the wild and legendary water horses in a deadly annual race. The large, carnivorous, predatory, wild and dangerous water horses are difficult to control and many men die every year as casualties of the race and the preparations leading up to the race.

Kate Connelly, otherwise known as Puck, never dreamed of entering the race. Feeling like she has no choice but to do so, she tries to go about competing in unconventional ways. Since she is the first female ever to compete in the race, she has a large target on her back already from those that believe she has no business racing.

Both Sean and Puck need to win. They both need the money that the winner will receive. However, there can only be one winner. Plus, with enemies in the way and danger on the line, they will both be lucky to survive.

Maggie Steifvater’s The Scorpio Races is a stand-alone novel. There is a slim possibility for a sequel or a related story at some time in the future. At this time, however, there are no plans for a sequel.

Scholastic Press, an Imprint of Scholastic, Inc.
Copyright 2011 by Maggie Steifvater
404 pages
Interest Level: Grades 9-12
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.5

PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION***SPOILER ALERT

Profanity: None that I noticed

Kissing: Yes, but very little

Teen Sex: No

Sex Scenes: No. The closest is an older secondary character in the book that was visiting Thisby found leaving his room looking as if he has just had sex with a local, unmarried woman.

Violence: Yes. The races and the water horses are extremely violent. As well, there is a villain to the story that commits acts of evil and violence out of jealousy and pettiness.

Drug Use: No

Religion: Much of the people on the island of Thisby seem to belong to the Catholic faith. Puck does attend church and confession. However, there are also some on the island that practice a more unconventional and primitive religion.

Premise: Faerie myth of the water horse. Therefore, Fae magic is involved as well.

MORE DETAILED PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION SPOILER ALERT

Other than the violence, this book was clean in all other respects. The violence does get brutal. The villain to the story is cruel and commits some violent and evil acts. For example, he pees in Sean’s boots. He is also unfeeling towards animals. For example,he purposefully injures a horse so that it will have to be put down, only to hurt Sean. In the end, he tries to kill Sean.

There are also those that threaten and try to intimidate Puck. There are those that discriminate against her because she is a girl. It even goes so far that someone tries to injure both her and her horse.

Water horses are extremely violent. Wild water horses will appear on the island. When they do so, they will hunt and kill whatever they run across, be it livestock or human. Those that are captured for the races and trained can still be extremely wild as well. They often lash out and kill their captors or fellow competitors. They can also kill each other.

It is difficult to tell the exact time and setting for The Scorpio Races. I would guess that Thisby is in Ireland. The women’s suffrage movement is discussed and cars and bicycles are available. However, there is no mention of many modern conveniences such as phones of any kind.

The Scorpio Races ends without a definitive conclusion. The reader can infer a likely scenario for the ending, but it is not laid out. This is why I believe that a sequel is possible although not probable. Though I appreciated the originality of the story, I personally do not like when the ending of the books I read are left with too many unanswered questions. I like to know what will happen to the characters I have gotten to know, not just what might happen to them. In that respect, I am left unsatisfied and annoyed.

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Half-Blood

Action/Adventure, Armentrout, Jennifer L., Book Reviews, Covenant, Grades 9-12, Mythology, Romance, Vampire No Responses »

Mar 212012

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout is the first volume to her Covenant series. Although the prequel, Daimon, is available and is a great introduction to the series, Half-Blood can stand alone. Reminiscent of the Vampire Academy series, Half-Blood should appeal to that fan base. Some may accuse it to be a knock-off. Though it definitely has a lot of similarities to the Vampire Academy series, it is still different enough to appreciate Half-Blood and the Covenant series for its own merits. Half-Blood is very entertaining and suspenseful.

After living with her mother in hiding, Alexandria, the daughter of a mortal and a demigod, was forced to flee for her life when her mother was attacked and killed by daimons, pure-blood demigods that have turned and now prey upon the aether in their blood. Sentinels, daimon hunters, found Alexandria while she was on the run and have returned her to the Covenant where she must either catch up on her missed three years of schooling very quickly, or be forced to become an indentured servant.

After watching her mother die at the hands of a daimon, Alexandria is determined to become a Sentinel. With her own Uncle and Step-Father blocking the way of this happening, Alex must work extremely hard in order to achieve her goal. Certainly, she can’t let her attraction to Aiden, the pure-blood that has volunteered to help her catch up on her studies, distract her. Since romances between half-bloods and pure-bloods are forbidden, doing so would be detrimental to her future career and her life. If this weren’t enough, the arrival of the Apollyon, a super powered half-blood, bring with it the knowledge of the fate that awaits Alex and the reason that Alex’s mother was determined to hide her.

Half-Blood is the first volume in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Covenant series. Though a prequel, Daimon, is available, it is not an official volume in the series. So far, there four volumes scheduled for the series, or five, if you include the prequel. They are:

Daimon (not an official volume in the series)
Half-Blood (This is the actual first volume in the series)
Pure
Diety (to be released 11/2012)
Covenant Series #4 title TBD (to be released Spring 2013)

Spencer Hill Press
Copyright 2011 by Jennifer L. Armentrout
281 pages
Interest Level: Grades 9-12

PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION***SPOILER ALERT

Profanity: Yes, including taking the Lord’s name in vain

Kissing: Yes

Teen Sex: Yes

Sex Scenes: Yes, although it is interrupted before completion.

Violence: Yes

Drug Use: Yes, though only voluntarily by the daimons once turned, who become addicted to the blood in the half-blood and pure-blood Hematoi. In addition, the half-blood servants to the pure-bloods are forced to take addictive drugs, which takes away their free will and turns them into mindless servants.

Premise: Greek Mythology and Demigods

MORE DETAILED PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION***SPOILER ALERT

This book loosely relies on Greek mythology. The Greek gods populated the earth with their offspring. The Hemotai are the pure-blood descendants of demigods, sons and daughters of mortals and Greek gods. Their sons and daughters hooked up together to create the pure-blood Hemotai. Children of the Hemotai and mortals are considered half-bloods. Alex’s mother is a Hemotai or pure-blood and Alex is a half-blood.

Some of the Hemotai or pure-bloods like Alex’s mother have power over some of the elements. For example, her mother had power over wind and Aiden has power over fire. Aiden uses his power to help him kill daimons. Since daimons were pure-bloods as well, they have many of the same powers.

Half-bloods like Alex have two choices. They can either attend the Covenant, a Hemotai school and training facility, or become servants. The Covenant trains the half-bloods to become guards or sentinels. If the half-bloods do not have a pure-blood helping them with admittance to the Covenant, or if they do not have the money to pay for the training, they must enter the working class. The working class servants are drugged by the pure-bloods, some as young as the age of seven. They receive an addicting dose of a special blend of poppy flowers and tea. This drug takes away the half-bloods personality, leaving behind a mindless and blindly obedient servant. The servants also receive a mark on their forehead that signals they are a servant.

Alex’s mother was married. She had an affair and Alexandria was the result. Alexandria is now seventeen. Three years ago, Alex and her mother moved away from the Covenant where she was in training to become a sentinel one day. Her mother never told her exactly why they needed to leave, but she made Alex promise never to return. Although, part of the reason that have needed to move around is because daimons are always hunting them. Daimons are pure-bloods that have turned their backs on the Hemotai society. They can be turned by choice or by force. The kill fellow pure-bloods, and sometimes half-bloods in order to feed off of the aether in their blood. Aether is their life force and the essence of the gods. Part of the reason that half-bloods are used as guards is because they are the only ones that can see through the glamour of the daimons to the evil beneath.

The Hemoati are a very elitist society. Half-bloods are at the bottom of the food chain. They can’t be a member of the Heomati Council. They aren’t invited to special parties that the pures have. They can’t fight with pures, become romantically involved, have sex or babies. Any infraction results in punishment to the half-blood and a little punishment to the pures.

Most half-bloods try not to form romantic attachments. They just hook-up. As guards or sentinels, they need to be ready to leave at a moments notice. This does not leave room for girlfriends or families.

The guy that Alex is interested in is a guy that is forbidden to her, an older pure-blood back from her Covenant days. It is forbidden for pure-bloods and half-bloods to mix. If they become romantically involved, it usually ends badly, mostly for the half-blood. With the threat of becoming a mindless servant always hanging over a half-blood’s head, the results can be disastrous for the half-blood. Aiden, the pure-blood she had a crush on, is a Sentinel and three years older than her. He volunteers to help train Alex to catch her up on the three years of training that she missed. As they get to know each other by working together every day, they develop feelings for one another. One night, they almost have sex. They get as far as Alex in Aiden’s bed, naked. They are interrupted. They later decide that as much as they care for one another, they care too much to see either one of them hurt.

When Seth, the Apollyon, a superhuman half-blood, arrives at school, he and Alex find that they are connected and that their futures are entwined. Alex is fated to become an Apollyon upon her eighteenth birthday. The last time there were two Apollyons at one time resulted in them both being killed, so neither Seth nor Alex is exactly jumping for joy.

There is violence in Half-Blood. Daimons are chasing Alexandria in the opening of the book. She manages to kill one and the Sentinel’s kill all but one of the rest. The Covenant school trains its students to become soldiers, in effect. So, they are training in fighting techniques and with weapons. Alex does get into some fights at school, usually with her long-time arch nemesis, Lea, a fellow student. There are also some attacks by daimons, resulting in some deaths of both pure and half-bloods. Alex herself was attacked by a daimon and bit by it once. After a daimon killed her mother, they turned her into a daimon against her will. She tracks down Alex and kidnaps her and her best friend Caleb. Alex is bitten repeatedly in an attempt to turn her into a daimon. Alex manages to escape and kills her mother, releasing her from her unwanted sentence as a daimon.

Half-Blood leaves the series in an intriguing place. I look forward to seeing how the story continues in Pure.

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

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Up, Up, and Away

Book Reviews, Grades 1-2, Picture Books, Pre K-K No Responses »

Mar 202012

Up, Up, and Away is a simple “I can read” type story. My son picked this particular book out at the library. It has a picture of a rocket going into outer space on a cover. Since he loves things having to do with spaceships, I am not surprised that he picked it out. However, at only four-years-old, he is not quite ready for this book. It is kind of dry as a picture book. If, instead, you are looking for a book that a beginning reader could read, then this would be great. I remember when I first started reading. I would read anything that I could. I didn’t care so much about the story, then. I just wanted to read, period.

Up, Up, and Away is a simple story about two children traveling to the moon and back again.

Modern Curriculum Press
Text copyright 1982 by Margaret Hillert, Illustrations Copyright by Modern Curriculum Press, Inc.
Original Copyright 1982 by Follett Publishing Company, a division of Follett Corporation
31 pages
Interest Level: Pre K-K, Grades 1-2

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

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Among the Barons

Action/Adventure, Book Reviews, Dystopian, Grades 6-8, Haddix, Margaret Peterson, Shadow Children, Uncategorized No Responses »

Mar 192012

I can’t say enough good things about the Shadow Children series. It is absolutely wonderful. Just when you think that the conflict and the tension in the series can’t be racked up any higher, it is. The moral and political dilemmas presented in the Shadow Children series really engages the mind and creates a wonderful debate about right, wrong, and government. Full of action and suspense, Among the Barons is a thrilling addition to the Shadow Children series.

Among the Barons by Margaret Peterson Haddix is the fourth book in the Shadow Children series. Luke Gardner has been masquerading as Lee Grant for about five months now. An illegal third child, Luke took on a another boy’s identity when he died unexpectedly. Lee Grant and his family are elite members of society known as Barons. Taking on Lee’s identity has given Luke freedom for the first time in his life. He loves not having to hide anymore. Just when Luke/Lee starts to get comfortable at boarding school, a new student arrives that disrupts his world. Smits, Lee’s younger brother, has decided to come to school to meet Luke/Lee. Mourning the loss of his own brother, Smits is having a difficult time keeping the secret that Luke is not really Lee. Afraid to even talk to Smits for fear of whoever may be listening, Luke/Lee is unsure if he can be trusted. Now embroiled in the world of the rich, elite and powerful Barons, Luke becomes torn between doing the right thing and the thing that may just keep him alive.

Among the Barons is the fourth book in Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series. There are seven books in this series. They are as follows:

Among the Hidden
Among the Imposters
Among the Betrayed
Among the Barons
Among the Brave
Among the Enemy
Among the Free

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Copyright 2003 by Margaret Peterson Haddix
182 pages
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.7
Interest Level: Grades 6-8

PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION***SPOILER ALERT

Profanity: No

Kissing: No

Teen Sex: No

Sexual Situations: No

Drug Use: No

Violence: Some. Arson is committed and some characters are killed.

Political: This is a dystopian type world with a big and powerful government. There is no mention of liberal, conservative, republican or democrat parties.

MORE PARENTAL GUIDE DETAILS***CAUTION**SPOILER ALERTS

There is no bad language in this book and there are no sexual situations.

This is a world where having more than two children are illegal. Punishment for breaking the law could mean death. The government, in particular the branch known as the Population Police, is all-powerful. The President is more powerful than ever and seems to be more like a monarch than a ruler of democratic republic.

As far as violence is concerned in this book, someone sets fire to the boarding school deliberately. In addition, various characters are plotting deaths, fake deaths and other deceptions. Some characters are killed, but they are not primary characters to the series.

Among the Barons takes an unexpected turn. One would think that the reason that a family would pretend that their child was alive and give that identity to another would be because they think that the government is wrong to make third children illegal. However, what if the family has their own reasons? What if they are trying to cover something up? Is it okay for the family and Luke to use each other? Also, since this family did Luke such a tremendous favor, what exactly are his obligations towards them now? How far should Luke go to try to stay alive and keep his new identity? With these, among other questions, Among the Barons and the Shadow Children series raises quite a few moral dilemmas.

Margaret Peterson Haddix has done an incredible job with the series. She is a wonderful and talented author.

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

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Dreaming Awake

Demons, Falling Under, Friendship, Hayes, Gwen, Horror, Romance No Responses »

Mar 162012

Falling Under was definitely different and intriguing. It’s sequel, Dreaming Awake by author Gwen Hayes, continues the story in the same vein. Though I appreciated Falling Under for it’s uniqueness and it’s beautiful love story, the series is also dark and disturbing. As I read Dreaming Awake, I couldn’t help but feel that the story is a little bit too unsettling. The twists and turns in Dreaming Awake were unexpected, so much so that the story moved along in ways that were not as enjoyable or hopeful. This is not a “happily ever after” and “good triumphs over evil” story, which is what you usually expect. Though I appreciate the artistry of the story, it left me feeling unsatisfied.

Seventeen-year-old Theia Alderson sacrificed herself to save the guy that she loves, Haden Black. In return, he also sacrificed his dream to become human in order to save her in return. Theia and Haden are trying to navigate the repercussions of their actions. Their love for each other is beautiful and has saved them both, so far at least. Can they find a way to be together, or is their love doomed?

Escaped from Under, Theia is having difficulty returning to her old life.. She is continually sucked back to Under in her dreams. As well, she is worried about Haden and whether or not he is the cause for the mysterious illness traveling through the high school. She has worried that he has lost control, and she is concerned that she may be losing control as well.

To make matters worse, Mara, Haden’s demon mother, has not given up. She is determined to get her way and extract some pain and revenge in the process, putting Theia and Haden’s lives and futures in jeopardy, as well as those of their classmates, friends and family. They are going to have a major battle on their hands if they are all to survive.

Dreaming Awake is the second volume in the Falling Under series. There are no further volumes planned at this time, although the author has expressed a desire to possibly revisit the series sometime in the future. The titles in the series are:

Falling Under
Dreaming Awake

New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright 2012 by Gwen Hayes
322 pages
Interest Level: Grades 9-12

PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION***SPOILER ALERT’

Theia’s father believes that she ran away from home when she was actually trapped in Under. Though he looks like he was physically and emotionally affected by Theia’s disappearance, he never talks to her about it. Life moves on as usual, with her father usually at work and never talking to each other about their feelings

Theia has some very wild and colorful friends at school. They are her best friends. Donny is wild and extremely promiscuous. She has a reputation as a slut. She loves guys and sex. She has been on the pill since age thirteen. She is crass and outspoken. She openly talks about sex often. Her other friend, Ame, is a goth girl without the black. She hates dark clothes, so she wears rainbow colors with goth-like accessories. She is into metaphysics and psychics, including crystals and tarot cards. Ame is of Korean descent adopted into an American family. She does not seem to be comfortable with her Korean looks and ancestry.

Recently entered into their circle of friendship is Varnie. He is a nineteen-year-old psychic that dresses in elaborate drag in order to get clients. He has taken Haden in and become his best friend. Varnie is also obviously in love with Amelia. However, Amelia is interested in another guy, Mike, though her best friends think that Varnie is better for her. They have much in common and they work together to trying to find magical or metaphysical solutions to their problems with the demons. They also perform spells together.

Gabe is also a recent addition to their circle. He is one of the popular guys in their high school. However, he had a major crush on Donny. They are now boyfriend and girlfriend, although Donny has been reluctant for anything more from a guy other than sex. In fact, Gabe wouldn’t sleep with her at first because he wanted her to take him seriously. He wanted to mean more than sex to her. Though they are now having sex, Gabe was successful in forming the deeper relationship with Donnie that he had desired.

In Falling Under, Theia made a bargain with Mara, Haden’s demon mother. Theia made a blood oath with her and Mara taught her how to be a mare demon like she is. Mare demons often visit their prey in their sleep, although they can do it in person as well. They drain and feed on human souls. They absorb it through kissing, touching, and sex. Theia came close to draining Haden’s human soul once. She is still tempted by it and craves feeding on souls. Theia is not a demon, but she certainly now has certain attributes of one.

Haden says that he has never drained a soul and that he doesn’t need to since he is half-human.He says that he has taken some of their essence, though.

Haden has an ability called the “Lure”. He can use it to attract people to him. It makes him looks extremely handsome and irresistible to him. Whenever he uses it, Theia can see it and it looks ugly to her. She hates when he uses it. Theia, though, seems to have the same ability now, though she doesn’t know that she has it and that she is using it often. She is receiving a great deal of attention from guys, attention that they never paid her before. Haden is extremely jealous and upset that she is using the Lure. He doesn’t realize she doesn’t know she is using it. Theia is mad at Haden for being jealous. So, she does socialize some with these guys because he doesn’t apologize and she doesn’t want to be dictated to. Theia finally discovers what she is doing one night when she confronts a jealous Haden using the Lure because she is and he tells her she is doing it too.

Strange and disturbing things start to happen to Theia. However, she does not confide in her boyfriend or friends about them. She receives a couple of disturbing notes slipped in anonymously in her backpack at school. She travels to Under in her dreams frequently. She gives a young girl a nightmare. She breaks windows or glasses when she is upset. She can also run supernaturally fast.

Theia is worried that she cannot control herself. She is also worried that Haden is losing control as well. Students at school seem listless. She is worried that their souls are being fed upon. There are also rumors that a girl Haden used to see is pregnant. The rumors turn out to not be true, but they certainly cause Theia concern.

The group, led by Amelia and assisted by Varnie, attempt a magical protection spell. However, it attacks Theia. Theia worries that it did so because they all need protection from her. Another protection spell burns her hand.

Theia wants to have sex with Haden, however they cannot. If Haden were to have sex with a virgin, which Theia is, he would go through a demon rite of passage, turning him into a full-fledged demon. Theia hadn’t know about this obstacle before. They stay together, flirting with danger. One night when Haden sleeps over at Theia’s house when she is alone, they almost accidentally have sex. The sex started in a mutual dream. Some clothes came off. They awaken with Haden on top of Theia. Theia decides that the risk is too great to Haden’s soul, so she tells him she wants to break up. Haden wants to stay together and try to find a way to overcome the obstacle. Theia refuses, but Haden doesn’t truly give up and they still love each other.

Unbeknownst to Theia and Haden, Mara has been dating Theia’s father. Theia is worried for her father’s safety. Mara is using him to get to Haden and Theia. Of course, she is also interested in draining his soul. She lures them all out on a double-date. She does so to threaten then and to work on extracting revenge for them crossing her. She vows to destroy everyone that Theia cares about. Then she appears to kiss Theia’s father, damaging him and putting him in a coma.

Theia often keeps vigil over her father in the hospital. Once, she starts to fall asleep sitting next to him in bed. She is able to see that something grotesque and evil is draining her father of his energy. It appears as though the hospital equipment is being disguised as a device to drain him. She awakens and tries to take out his tubes. She gets stopped by the hospital personnel.

Under, or the Underworld, is described as a very dark and disturbing place. As it is home to Mara, it is also evil. There are scary creatures and fauna that abound. There are ghouls, skeletal looking creatures, trolls, and other odd beings. Live food is often served. In some ways, it is also beautiful, however. There are beautiful buildings, rivers, and flowers.

Haden has been secretly returning to Under. He is planning a coup. He and his followers are assembling an army to fight against Mara. He wants to take over the underworld to protect Theia from Mara.

Theia steals a car. She wants to try to get to Under to rescue her father. She drive’s to Gabe’s cabin. Mike has been tricked by Mara into trying to kill Haden. He has been fooled that Mara is a Queen and Haden is an evil demon. He things that he needs to save Theia. He stabs him with a silver knife. It does not kill him, but it is harder for Haden to heal from and it seems to damage his soul. Then he throws a vial of something that seems to send Theia back in time. She goes through the past where she met Haden, but Haden isn’t there. She is reliving the time as if she never met Haden. Theia realizes that things aren’t right. It is all a trick, a show that Mara is putting on. Mara then sets Theia and her friends on a journey of peril in Under. She puts them all through their worst nightmare, such as Donny waking up pregnant.

Varnie has been killed. He manages to go on a metaphysical journey to reach Gabe and Donny and lead them to Amelia. Amelia is stuck in a catatonic state, partly due to the unnatural energy that connects her to Mike. She accidentally summoned a demon, Mara, when she was thirteen. She wasn’t aware of it at the time, she assumed it was a guardian angel. Mara connected Amelia to Mike so that she would be in love with him always, but not so that he would reciprocate her feelings. Varnie manages to help cleanse that energy from her being and then leaves. He tells Amelia that he loves her and he wants her to go on and live a full and happy life.

Though Haden and his army are making progress, Mara has captured all of the girls. She wants to form Theia, Donny and Amelia into one monstrous being. She wants to cut them up and have them sown back together, intertwined as one three-headed monster with all of their mouths sewn shut. Though the girls fight back, they are largely unsuccessful. As a last resort, Theia tries to take energy from Mara as if she were a demon feeding on a soul. She kills Mara. This makes her the new Queen of Under.

So, Theia is mostly a demon now. She and Haden are ruling Under together. She travels between realms to participate in both lives, though. Also, because Theia is mostly a demon now, they believe that they can have sex without repercussions. At the very end of the book, it appears that they are about to test that theory.

In Dreaming Awake, there is some cursing. There is some kissing and heavy make out sessions. Some of the characters do have sex. However, there are no explicit sex scenes in the book. There is one almost sex scene between Haden and Theia where a make out session leading to sex in a dream transfers to real life. Varnie is nineteen-years-old and he drinks beer. Theia also has a drink out with some guys at a restaurant. Haden drinks as well, but not in the book. He is much older than he appears.

Dreaming Awake left me with many unanswered questions. Some holes were left in the story. For example, they found Theia’s father in Under, but what about Brittany, the popular girl in school that was in a coma as well? Also, did Theia get in trouble for stealing a car when she returned to Serendipity Falls? If Haden’s dream was to be human and be with Theia, why doesn’t he travel with her when she returns to Serendipity Falls? Technically, Theia isn’t yet eighteen. Though her father is in a coma, their housekeeper is her temporary guardian. So, how is she explaining all of her absences and traveling back and forth? Do all the kids at school recover? How is Mike’s absence being explained as well? Personally, I expected answers to these questions.

Dreaming Awake left me feeling unsettled. The story just turned in a direction I wasn’t expecting. The outcome our heroes were working toward in Falling Under didn’t realize. In fact, the almost exact opposite happened. Though I understand some of the reasoning, it just didn’t seem like an ideal ending to the series.

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

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The Monster at the End of this Book

Book Reviews, Grades 1-2, Picture Books, Pre K-K, Uncategorized No Responses »

Mar 152012

The Monster at the End of this Book starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover by Jon Stone, Illustrated by Mike Smollin was my favorite book as a young child. There were not as many television programs for children available as there are now, and Sesame Street was very popular. Still around today, Sesame Street is still entertaining and teaching children. Even if your child does not appreciate Sesame Street, they can still enjoy this book. I have read this book to each of my children, and they all really loved it. Reading this particular story to your child is very interactive. As you read the book that asks the children not to turn the page, they of course have to try to turn it. It is a wonderful and fun bedtime story to read to your child.

Grover is scared of Monsters. When he learns that a monster is going to be at the end of the book, he begs you not to turn the page and get to the end of the book. Grover does everything that he can to keep you from turning the page. Each page causes Grover more stress. He uses more extreme measures to try to keep you from turning the page. At the end, a surprise is waiting for you and for Grover.

The Monster at the End of this Book starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover is the first of two similar books. The sequel is Another Monster at the End of this Book. That version stars Grover and Elmo. Both copies are available as a board book or a part of A Little Golden Book series. Personally, I like the board books because you can be a little rougher with the book. I can try to hold the page down a little harder to try to keep my child from turning it. Again, the books in the series are:

The Monster at the End of this Book starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover
Another Monster at the End of this Book

Random House, Inc., originally published by Golden Books Publishing Company in 1971
Copyright 1971 by Children’s Television Workshop Copyright Renewed in 1999
Muppets Copyright 1971 and renewed 1999 by The Jim Henson Company
Words by Jon Stone, Ilustrated by Mike Smollin
22 pages
Interest Level: Pre K-K, Grades 1-2

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

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Sirensong

Black, Jenna, Book Reviews, Fae/Faerie/Pixies, Faeriewalker, Grades 9-12, Romance No Responses »

Mar 142012

In Sirensong, the third and final volume in the Faeriewalker series, Jenna Black takes us on a captivating journey back into Dana’s world, which seems to keep getting more and more complicated. Black has given us a heroine to love who continues to intrigue and surprise. Sirensong is an enjoyable voyage into the Faeriewalker series, I only wish that it were not the last. Questions are answered, but Dana’s story seems to be far from over.

Sixteen-year-old Dana Hathaway has been trying to adjust to her Faeriewalker status and the target on her back because of it. With her bargain with the Erlking hanging over her head and the Queens of Faerie wanting her dead, she has had a lot to handle. When the Prince Henry, son of Tatiana, the Seelie Queen, arrives, he has a message for Dana and her father. Either travel with him to Faerie to be presented to the Court or they will be arrested. Dana is less than thrilled to be traveling to Faerie. Luckily, she has her father and her friends with her to aid her in her journey. However, when the journey ends up being longer and more dangerous than she expected, the Erlking is forced to come to her rescue yet again. The Erlking is still determined to try to get Dana to give him what he wants.

Once Dana, her friends, and her father arrive at Court, Dana is framed in an assassination attempt on the Queen’s granddaughter. Forced to leave her father and Finn behind, Dana and her friends run for their lives. Dana is desperate to try to find a way to prove her innocence before those that she loves are forced to face the consequences.

Sirensong is the third and final volume in the Faeriewalker series. The series is a trilogy and no further stories are planned for the series at this time. I believe that the author did leave some openings so that the story could continue. If I discover that more are coming, I will update the information on my website. The titles in the series are as follows:

Glimmerglass
Shadowspell
Sirensong

St. Martin’s Griffin
Copyright 2011 by Jenna Black
312 pages
Interest Level: Grades 9-12

PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION***SPOILER ALERT

Seamus and Alistair, Kimber and Ethan’s father, are on opposite sides politically in Avalon and also in the Faerie Courts. Seamus is Seelie and Alistair is Unseelie. Dana is put in the middle of this political divide because of her family and friends and because of her Faeriewalker abilities. As the only living Faeriewalker with the ability to take magic into the mortal world and and technology into Faerie, she is an asset to whomever can claim her loyalty.

All of the Fae have long life spans and are very good-looking. Many of the men have long hair. Some of the Fae have tattoos, such as Keane and the Erlking. The Erlking’s Huntsmen also have tattoos, although they receive them not by choice but because they belong to the Erlking. Ethan has a tattoo on his face forced upon him by the Erlking. Dana has a tattoo on her shoulder, given to her by the Erlking as well. He had tricked her into receiving it, and it allows him to track her. However, it also allows Dana to be able to call him to request aid.

The Erlking is an old and powerful Faerie that even the Queens of Faerie feared. Though many have tried, they have not been able to kill him. There is a rumor that he even survived a beheading. Other Fae, though harder to kill than mortals, can still be killed.

The Huntsmen are slaves to the Erlking. The Huntsmen have to bide the Erlking’s will. The follow after him and their faces are often hidden behind helmets. The Huntsmen do not speak. He used to enslave the survivors of his hunt. He can also enslave anyone that raises their hand or weapon to him. He has enslaved Connor, Dana’s half-brother and Ethan. Though Ethan has been freed from the Wild Hunt because of the bargain he struck with Dana, he has not been freed from the Erlking. The Erlking can track him as well. Plus, he can give him instructions and force Ethan to do his will.

The Erlking has a great desire to use Dana’s Faeriewalker abilities to go out into the mortal world and hunt there. In pursuit of this desire, he made a bargain with Dana. He freed Ethan once the bargain was made and Connor once the bargain was completed. His price is Dana’s virginity, to be given to him whenever she is ready. If she gives it to someone else, then Ethan will be enslaved as a Huntsman once again. The only other alternative would be remaining celibate for the rest of her life. Unbeknownst to Dana at the time that she made the bargain is that the Erlking has the ability to absorb the powers of someone whose virginity he takes. He can take her power and her life. However, he has told Dana that he will not kill her if she does complete the bargain, although he does have the power to do so. He really wants to take her virginity so that he can take on her Faeriewalker powers. This would allow him to hunt unchecked in the mortal world. Since he is so vested in Dana’s future, this has made him an ally of sorts.

Ethan and Dana continue to date, although still with a bodyguard in tow. Ethan seems to have changed and grown up quite a bit due to his time with the Erlking and the Wild Hunt. He wants to keep seeing Dana, even though he knows that she cannot have sex with him. Dana still worries that he won’t be able to be in a relationship without sex for long, but she seems willing to give it a try. She really cares about Ethan.

Keane has a crush on Dana. Kimber has a crush on Keane. Ethan and Dana are dating. Ethan and Keane hate each other. This makes for an interesting journey. Ethan and Keane fight at times, sometimes physically and sometimes with magic. Ethan has the upper hand with magic and Keane has the upper hand physically. Once when Ethan tries to hurt Keane, Kimber steps in front of him to take the magical hit and her ribs are broken. Ethan then heals her. Due to circumstances during the journey, they really have to try to work together and tolerate each other, even though it is extremely difficult for all of them. Things are tense initially when Kimber and Keane start to make out with each other and become involved romantically. Ethan wants to protect his sister. At first, Dana is worried that Keane’s interest in Kimber is just to make Ethan and Dana jealous, but Keane does start to have feelings for Kimber and the relationship becomes more and more real.

Odd things happen in Faerie. It appears fairly normal, but it really isn’t. Trees and brush are moved aside magically to accommodate their camp. Trees and bushes form campsites and “rooms” for the campers. Special stones can be used to travel across great distances for a shortcut. Rooms change. Magic is a big part of Faerie.

When Bogles attack the traveling party and Dana is led away by a panicked wild horse, it seems obvious that someone wants to kill her. Bogles were somehow forced or enticed to attack in a place they would not go. Dana used her magic to kill some of them. Dana holds her own for awhile by running and with magic, but she is outnumbered. Luckily, the Erlking comes to her rescue.

Dana has the magical ability to turn a Fae human. This often results in their death because it turns a immortal creature into a mortal. The only people that had been aware of it is Ethan, the Erlking and his Huntsmen. Her ability seems to unsettle and make the Erlking, the boogeyman of the Faerie, nervous.

The Sidhe are classist and bigoted. Dana’s father is guilty of this. However, Prince Henry is even worse. He is entitled and pompous. He travels with an large entourage. He has a quick temper and is uncaring towards his guards and his servants. In particular, he mistreats a young teenage girl, around fourteen years-old, quite severely. He slaps the girl, named Elizabeth, lashing out because someone dared to laugh at him, even though it wasn’t her. He also tries to use her as an unwilling blood offering to a Faerie creature that needs virgin blood. Dana steps up and volunteers to take Elizabeth’s place. The Green Lady pricks Dana’s blood with hundreds of little pricks for blood offering to nourish the land.

When Dana is framed for an attempted murder of the queen’s granddaughter, they are forced to flee. Seamus and Finn stay behind to give them a chance to escape. So, Dana, Ethan, Kimber, and Keane are running for their lives. They do their best to make it back to Avalon. Although they make it fairly close, they are still captured, all except for Dana. Ethan forces her to use the invisibility brooch that the Erlking had given her in order to escape. Rather than keep running however, Dana decides to go back to Court and try to find a way to prove her innocence.

While on the run, Ethan and Dana have their tattoos burned and scarred off in hopes that the Erlking won’t be able to contact them or locate them if the tattoo is destroyed. The Erlking had tried to get Ethan to kidnap Dana and bring her back to him. Ethan manages to make enough noise to get stopped by Keane and Kimber.

The queen’s granddaughter was attacked with a bomb. There are no bombs in Faerie. Since only a Faeriewalker could bring the bomb in, Dana was the natural suspect. However, Dana did not bring a bomb, and since she was carried away so far on her horse during the bogles attack, no one else could have concealed it. The bomb would have had to stay very close to her presence. This means that there must be another Faeriewalker. Dana and her friends had reasoned that it must be the servant girl, Elizabeth, that Henry abused.

Dana returns to Court to confront Queen Titania and try to prove her innocence. She uses the Erlking’s brooch to remain invisible and walks to the palace and into her bedroom. She walks in on the Queen and the Erlking, who had obviously just been in bed together. The Erlking was putting on his boots and the Queen was still naked under the sheets in bed. They slept together in spite of the fact that the Erlking had imprisoned her son, Connor, as a Huntsmen.

Dana uses her gun that her father had given her to take into Faerie as a threat to get the Queen to listen to her. She then persuades them to perform a test to see if she is right and Elizabeth is a Faeriewalker. After some difficulty, she gets her to agree. Elizabeth and Henry come in and Elizabeth is proven to be a Faeriewalker. The Erlking has guessed that Elizabeth is Henry’s daughter. Henry reveals a hidden gun and shoots Elizabeth and Dana. He then holds a gun to his mother’s head. He uses the threat to get his mother to let him escape and take both Faeriewalkers with him. She agrees. Dana has no choice but to fight back. The only weapon available to her is her magic. The only spell she can do is to make someone mortal. She casts it on Henry, it flings him back and kills him, making him disappear.

The Queen questions Elizabeth and finds that she is indeed her granddaughter. Henry retrieved her from her mother in Avalon three years ago. He took her on as a servant after he killed her mother. The Queen sends her for some medical care and seems to intend on treating her like a granddaughter.

The Queen is now frightened of Dana because she is the most dangerous Faeriewalker ever born. She can sense magic and kill any Fae that she wants with one spell. The Queen wants to have her executed. She tries to get her to swear allegiance to the Seelie Court as a compromise. Dana calls magic as a threat and refuses. She accepts a bargain to only use it in self-defense. They seal it with a blood oath that the Queen inflicts upon her brutally because she is angry at Dana.

The Erlking heals Dana. He then releases Dana of his bargain for her virginity and he releases Ethan from his hold upon him. In return, Dana has to swear a blood-oathed promise not to reveal his secret to anyone, especially Elizabeth. The Erlking realizes that Dana is too-strong willed to ever give him her virginity. As well, he does not want to bind her to his hunt because it will eventually kill a half-mortal. Dana wishes she could protect Elizabeth, but she has to settle for protecting her friends and family. She will have to leave Elizabeth’s care in the hands of the Queen.

Dana’s friends and family are really angry at her for keeping so many secrets from them. She is not used to relying or trusting people. She did it to protect herself, but she realizes that not telling them was wrong. She needed to trust them to have her back and help her.

Seamus and Finn were tortured some while Dana and her friends were on the run. Her father has lost weight and looks weaker. He admits to Dana that he went through an “ordeal” while they were held captive at Court, but refuses to give Dana the details.

There is some light cussing in the book. The teens in the book do drink. The legal age in Avalon is eighteen-years-old. However, the drinking age is rarely enforced. Young teenagers can drink. Dana is reluctant to drink because of her Mom. Kimber makes hot possets, a medicinal alcoholic drink laced with whiskey. Dana and Kimber love them.

There are some kissing scenes in Sirensong. However, there is rarely any privacy for any of the teens to do more than make out. While on the run, they are forced into some tight and intimate quarters. There is one scene where Keane and Kimber had left for a time and Kimber returned with a hickey and her sundress mis-buttoned. After Dana awakens from recovering from using so much magic, she finds Ethan in bed with her. He puts his hands up her shirt and they make out.

Since Dana and her father had to leave for quite some time to travel into Faerie, Dana’s mother had been left to her own devices in Avalon. This means that her father was no longer able to be there to keep her from drinking. Dana begged her mother not to drink, but Dana’s mother refused to accept that she has a drinking problem. She does drink and in fact almost kills herself while they are gone. Luckily, Dana and her father arrive just in time to save her. Even after this episode, however, her mother still refuses to accept that she is an alcoholic. With the encouragement of Kimber, Dana joins Alateen. Through these meeting plus all of the things that Dana has been through, she begins to accept that she cannot save everyone.

The series ends with some problems resolved, but not all. That is life though, not everything is tied up in a neat little bow. Then ending of this series certainly isn’t. The tale doesn’t end, “And they lived happily ever after”. Dana is still in danger from those in fear of her Faeriewalker abilities. She still has to live underground with a bodyguard. How is she going to manage school? What is going to happen to her relationship with Ethan? Also, will the Erlking succeed with Elizabeth where he wasn’t able to with Dana?

Although I really enjoyed Sirensong, I still find myself with these and other questions unanswered. I am left wanting more. I wish that the story would continue. If there are ever any plans to do so, I will let you know. I can tell you that next on the horizon for this author is a young adult dystopian trilogy that arrives in 2013. I did enjoy reading the Faeriewalker series from Jenna Black and look forward to reading her next series.

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Genres

General Information No Responses »

Mar 132012

My hope is to make this blog as user-friendly as possible. I am sure that this will be a continual work in progress. One of the ways in which I am trying to do this is through the “categories” selections. One of the ways that I have grouped books is through their genre. In this way, the reader can browse through their favorite genres, or parents through their child’s favorite genre in order to locate a book in which they may be interested. Each book is tagged with the genre or genres that the story encompasses. For example, many young adult books do have at least a light romantic components. So, in addition to whatever main genre it may be, I would also select romance as a category. For example, the Across the Universe series by Beth Revis is a science fiction novel with some dystopian elements and a some romance. Therefore, its categories are science fiction, dystopian, and romance.

Again, I want this blog to be user-friendly. Therefore, please feel free to make suggestions or requests in my endeavor. Thank you for your readership.

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Waterfall

Bergren, Lisa, Book Reviews, Grades 9-12, Historical Fiction, River of Time, Romance, Time Travel, Uncategorized No Responses »

Mar 122012

Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren is a lovely and touching story. I found it to be a refreshing change of pace among the plethora of dystopian and paranormal stories out there these days. Filled with action and suspense, Waterfall is interesting and engaging. The love that developed between Gabby and Marcello was believable and incredibly romantic. I also enjoyed that there was something besides a love triangle keeping the couple apart. So many of the young adult stories out there these days feature love triangles. There are other obstacles that can keep people apart, and I like that this author used a different method than most. Although not by any means the first time-travel romance out there, I still found it to be unique. The ending leaves you hopeful that Gabby and Marcello can find a way to be together. Luckily, we know that there is a sequel and hope for the future for this engaging couple.

Gabby and her sister Lia are in Italy with their mother for the summer. Growing up with archeologists for parents, Gabby and Lia are used to spending the summers in remote areas of Italy. Since they are allowed to do little on the archeological sites, they are usually bored. Gabby and Lia decide to sneak into a tomb their mother was excavating. When they place their hands upon two handprints, Gabby is magically transported to fourteenth century Italy. Somehow separated from her sister during the journey, Gabby arrives there without her. She finds herself in the middle of a battle between two feuding neighbors. Though a handsome knight captures her interest, she tries to focus on finding her sister and returning home. However, doing so may be harder than she could ever imagine.

Waterfall is the first volume in the River of Time series. There are currently three volumes of the series that have been released. A bonus short story is also available with the fourth volume in the series coming in June. The books in the series are:

Waterfall
Cascade
Torrent
Bourne ( Not an official volume in the series, it is a bonus short story available only in eBook format.)
Tributary (Coming in June in eBook format only, this is the fourth volume in the series.)

David C. Cook
Copyright 2011 by Lisa T. Bergren
369 pages
Interest Level: Grades 9-12

PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION***SPOILER ALERT

As far as language and sex are concerned, this is an extremely clean book. There are no sex scenes and no bad language. There are some kissing scenes, but that is all. Since this is set in the fourteenth century, the people are very modest. There are some scenes where rape is threatened or about to occur, but no rape does occur.

There is violence in Waterfall. The girls time travel back to the fourteenth century. Times are difficult and violent. There are many battles with enemies and criminals. There are feuds and sieges. People are killed violently and sometimes cruelly. Our heroines kill in order to defend themselves or to defend each other and their allies.

Gabby is seventeen and Lia is fifteen. They have both been encouraged and trained by their parents in many pursuits. These pursuits are not typical for the fourteenth century, however, it makes them very strong and empowered heroines. Gabby studied fencing and Lia is skilled at archery. They use these abilities to defend themselves and others. They are also skilled in several languages, including English, Italian, and Latin.

Gabby and Lia do lie to protect their time-traveling story. They are concerned that if they were to tell, they would be labeled as witches and killed. Gabby represents them as nobility in order to gain safety, hospitality, and assistance.

Marcello has been betrothed for several years. It is not a love match, it is born of alliances and strategy. His fiancé is happy with the arrangement and Marcello was content with it as well until he met Gabby. He falls in love with Gabby and wishes to break off his impending marriage for her. He would like to marry Gabby. Gabby loves him as well, but does not want to cause him political problems by accepting, plus she is concerned what her decision to stay in the fourteenth century would mean for her family.

There are some religious references in Waterfall. The fourteenth century is a religious time. There is much prayer, worship and belief in God. Gabby is not particularly religious, although she does wrestle with a belief in God and offers up some pleading prayers. Marcello prays as well.

I enjoyed Waterfall and look forward to reading the next book in the River of Time series, Cascade. Marcello is a swoon-worthy hero and Gabby an admirable heroine. I can’t help but root for them to find a way to be together.

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Captivate

Book Reviews, Fae/Faerie/Pixies, Grades 9-12, Jones, Carrie, Mythology, Need, Werewolves/Shapeshifters No Responses »

Mar 092012

Captivate by Carrie Jones is the second in the Need series. I wasn’t thrilled by Need, the first book in the series, so I wasn’t eager to read Captivate. However, I was somewhat surprised that the series has improved and that I did enjoy Captivate much more than the first entry of the series. The main character, Zara, had really annoyed me in Need because I felt like she was a hypocrite, but she grew and changed much more than I suspected she would have in Captivate. I thought that the characters and the plot developed and grew into a much more enjoyable book. Though I am still not a huge fan by any means, I feel like Captivate at least captured more of my interest and curiosity as to make me much more eager to pick up the third volume in the series, Entice.

Half-pixie Zara and her friends had hoped to have solved their town’s pixie problems by imprisoning them in the woods. However, more keep coming to town. As more and more arrive, they keep trying to capture them and add them to the compound. Their solution, though, just may have made things worse instead of better. More Pixie Kings have arrived in town hoping to take over the territory from Zara’s Pixie King father. One, Astley, tries persuading Zara that not all pixies are bad. Just like humans, there are bad and good pixies. He claims to be able to help the situation, with Zara as his destined Queen. Zara doesn’t want to become a pixie though. It frightens her, plus she and her werewolf boyfriend, Nick, are so much in love. However, when Nick’s future hangs in the balance, what will Zara sacrifice in order to save him?

Captivate is the second book in the Need series. The complete list of books for the series is as follows:

Need
Captivate
Entice
Endure (to be released 05/08/2012)

Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books
Copyright 2010 by Carrie Jones
273 pages
Interest Level: Grades 9-12

PARENTAL GUIDE***CAUTION***SPOILER ALERT

There were no sex scenes in Captivate. There were quite a few kissing scenes, however. Nick and Zara make out often. He even spends the night occasionally, though they have not had sex. Nick and Zara sleep together on the couch overnight with her grandmother’s blessing. There are other couples and characters that kiss as well. There is also some bad language in the book.

The main character, Zara, is a liberal pacifist and activist teenager. She is a member of Amnesty International. She names her car after Yoko Ono. She talks about not being able to kill anyone, even if it is someone evil, and even if it is to save her own life or someone else’s. She believes that her life is worth no more than anyone else’s, even if it is a murderer.

Zara is obsessed with phobias. She recites phobias whenever she is nervous or afraid. She also worries that she herself has too many phobias.

The characters in this book consists of pixies, half-pixies, humans, faes, a half-elf, Valkyries, and weres, such as werewolves, were-bears, were-eagles, were-lions and so on. This book and series mixes with many different paranormal creatures and myths. In some ways, it seemed odd to me to mix so many genres together in one book.

At the end of the last book, Zara did go against her pacifist ways by imprisoning a bunch of pixies, including her father, in his house in the woods. She did so to save the town and her mother. However, if what her father claimed was true, her actions will only be making the situation worse. This in fact seems to be the case.

More pixies keep arriving in their little Maine town. A couple of them are kings, looking to take over the territory from Zara’s Pixie King father. He was weakened by having no Queen and now weakened further by being imprisoned in a home surrounded by iron. He persuades Zara to meet with him. She and her best friend Issie take him for a ride and talk to him. He tries to warn them about what could happen, but they don’t really listen. He tries to explain that their are good and bad pixies and that he is somewhere in between. He tells them that others kings will come and try to claim his pixies, his territory, and his daughter. To do so, they will kill Nick to get to her. Nick protects the town and Zara. He will be a threat they will try to eliminate. He tells her that he either needs to kill a boy or make Zara’s mother his Queen. She refuses and puts him back in his prison.

Zara encounters Astley, a Pixie King that is looking to take over the territory. He is injured and tied to a tree with barbed wire. Nick is responsible for his condition. When Zara finds him, she is not sure if he is a pixie or not, but she finds herself needing to help him. She ends up saving his life and he escapes.

Astley tries to convince Zara that he is good. He says he doesn’t kill people and that he is under control. He tries to tell her that not all pixies are bad. He wants her to trust him and even helps Zara on occasion. However, he also stands in the middle of the road, causing Zara to wreck her car and become injured.

Nick and Zara go to the pixie prison to feed the pixies. They find the iron down, meaning that the pixies have been freed. However, some have been killed. The other Pixie King, the one that Astley told her was evil, found the home and took down the iron surrounding it enough to invade the home. Zara rushes in the home in spite of a bad dream she had where something somewhat similar had occurred. Nick follows Zara. They find her father, who is weak and manages to escape. They also encounter the new Pixie King who has come to town. He and Nick fight. Zara distracts Nick, causing him to become gravely injured. Zara fights the Evil Pixie King. He decides to leave and let Zara watch her werewolf boyfriend die and come back for her later. Zara tries to get Nick help, but it isn’t enough, he is dying.

A mysterious woman, Thruth, a Valkyrie, tried to take Astley to Valhalla to fight for Odin. These are part of a Norse myth about warriors needed for a final great battle that they believe will be waged there in their Maine city. She later comes after Nick and takes him to Vahalla after he battles the evil Pixie King and lays dying. She flies away with him with her swan-like wings.

Astley explains to Zara that weres and pixies are attracted to their Maine town. He tells her that it will be the place for the final battle. The Valkyrie needs eight hundred warriors for the final battle.

Some of the pixies that Zara imprisoned come after Zara for revenge. In spite of Zara’s pacifist beliefs, she fights back and even kills some of them. One she disabled and could have just left him there while she escaped, but she is upset about Nick and she kills the pixie. She is so upset, she actively hunts pixies, putting her life in jeopardy. Astley rescues her from her stupidity.

After Nick is taken away, Zara discovers that he has been lying to her about his parents. He gave her the cover story, that his parents are out of the country doing a wildlife photo shoot. In fact they are dead. Nick’s father went feral and killed Nick’s mother. Then Nick killed his father. After all Zara has done, killing pixies and hunting them down, she criticizes Nick for murdering his father.

Some of the pixies that have escaped attack a bus full of high school students. They ambushed the bus. The the pixies attack, hurting and killing many of them. Many pixies come after Zara for revenge. They encircle her home, attacking her grandmother, herself and her friends. They manage to fight many off and return to the safety of the house.

Zara decides to become pixie-kissed. She agrees to turn pixie and become Astley’s Queen in the hopes that she can save Nick. She goes through the transformation in spite of her friend’s and her grandmother’s objections. The process is dangerous and some do not survive the change. She survives. Becoming a pixie changes Zara’s appearance but gives her immense strength. Kissing Astley and becoming a pixie binds her future to Astley. Astley had told her if she did it, he would help her to rescue Nick. In fact, though, he does not know how to get to Valhalla. He did not tell her the full truth.

In spite of all of their beliefs that pixies are all evil, Zara trusted Astley and became a pixie anyway. As well, in spite of being worried that Zara could now be evil, Issie invites her into her home. Cassie who is part-elf has a way of ascertaining Zara’s intentions and claims them to be pure. They vow to work together to try to rescue Nick, who Cassie says she is able to tell is still alive. Then they get ready to leave to go to a school dance.

My main problem with Captivate is the same that it is with Need. I feel like Zara is a hypocrite. She is a pacifist that does not believe in harming or killing others. Yet she imprisons pixies and she even kills three of them. In some ways, I did feel that the decision she made to protect herself and kill these pixies shows character growth. However, her actions put more people at risk and they went against her belief system. She protected herself, her mother and her friends. Yet her actions caused many to be injured and killed. Plus, she was still judgmental of Nick even after all hat she had done. I know people and characters make mistakes, but Zara seems extremely stupid at times. Events in the book itself seem somewhat stupid as well. However, Zara’s decisions and actions makes it harder to like and respect her as a heroine.

The series continues next with Entice. I am curious as to what happens next in spite of my dislike for Zara. In this, I do feel like the author did her job and sucked me in enough to want me to read the next installment.

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