Jars of Words

Purple Moon made me appreciate YA contemporary Christian fiction. I like science fiction, but there’s something enchanting about a normal boy and girl meeting and falling in love. Back cover:         Selena's life isn't turning out to be the fairy tale she imagined as a kid. That hope seemed to vanish long ago when her dad kicked her and her mom out of the house. This summer might finally hold the chance of a new beginning for Selena ... but having to live with her snobby cousin in Lake Lure, NC while waiting for her mom to get out of rehab wasn't how Selena was planning on spending her summer. She soon begins to wonder why she committed to giving up her "bad habits" for this. Things don't seem too bad, though. Especially when Selena gains the attention of the cute neighbor next door. But when her best friend back home in Brooklyn desperately needs her, a secret that's been hidden from Selena for years is revealed, and when she bec...

I love reading spooky books during the Halloween season. To get in the spirit, I reviewed A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Here is the back cover: At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting - he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd - whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself - Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined. The idea of A Monster Calls was conceived by Siobhan Dowd who did not finish it before dying of cancer. However, the idea was so brillian...

Unwind is the first installment in a young adult science fiction dystology. The other installments are Unwholly , Unsouled , Undivided , and Unbound . Back cover: The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state, is not talented enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape - and to survive. Shusterman takes dystopia to the next level with his science fiction novel Unwind. This book contains the most authentic characters I’ve ever read, a chilling world, and ceaseless action. Yet, Shusterman writes f...

Code of Silence by Tim Shoemaker is a young adult Christian fiction thriller. Back Cover: TELLING THE TRUTH COULD GET THEM KILLED. REMAINING SILENT COULD BE WORSE. When Cooper, Hiro, and Gordy witness a robbery that leaves a man in a coma, they find themselves tangled in a web of mystery and deceit that threatens their lives. After being seen by the criminals—who may also be cops—Cooper makes everyone promise never to reveal what they have seen. Telling the truth could kill them. But remaining silent means an innocent man takes the fall, and a friend never receives justice. Is there ever a time to lie? And what happens when the truth is dangerous? The three friends, trapped in a code of silence, must face the consequences of choosing right or wrong when both options have a price. This book starts off with a bang if I’ve ever read one. The suspense and fear built into those first chapters never leave. It is a total adrenaline rush that kept me reading well into the night...