Shadow Hills

Shadow Hills
by Anastasia Hopcus

Persephone "Phe" Archer feels as though she doesn't belong in LA any more since her sister's death. She leaves the city to go to Devenish Prep, a boarding school in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts. Her sister, Athena, had written of this place in her last diary entry, and Phe is determined to figure out why.

As Phe snoops around the school and the town, she continues to have dreams about the town and people within the town, both dead and alive. But the townspeople are odd. Every single one of them. And they might be after her.

Grade: C

I had many problems with this book. The synopsis made it sound amazing, and suspenseful, and romantic, and all that good stuff. I was wrong. I will start with the good. My favorite part of the book was the last couple of chapters. It picked up the pace, and I was intrigued. I can't say that for the rest of the book though.

Though the plot seemed interesting enough, it lacked...something. The characters definitely could have developed more. I realized shortly after I started reading that I was very annoyed by Phe's personality. She seemed fake-y to me, and really nosy. She liked to snoop, even if it was risking her safety, which I didn't find realistic. The conversations didn't seem incredibly realistic to me either. The wording seemed a little more proper than what I am used to in YA novels, so that might be why.

The relationship between Phe and Zach didn't hit a soft spot for me. Though when he came into the scene while reading, the parts did seem to go by faster, which was good, considering the slow pace of the book. Also, the whole "love at first sight" in books don't really phase me. I don't care for them at all. And the relationship just went from them meeting to them being so close so incredibly fast, which could be realistic, but not really relate-able to a lot of people.

Overall, I definitely think this book had potential, though it wasn't totally reached.

*reviewed for TeensReadToo

The Line

The Line
by Teri Hall

Rachel and her widowed mother, Vivian, have lived on The Property since Rachel was a little girl. The Property belongs to Ms. Moore. The Property is right on The Line, an invisible border separating the Unified States from Away. Rachel spends her days at the greenhouse with Ms. Moore's orchids, wondering about The Line.

When she finds a message from an Other of Away asking for help, Rachel will stop at nothing to do just that.

Grade: B

I think this is the first futuristic kind of book I have read before, and I really liked it! It wasn't really what I was expecting. From the cover, I thought it might be something kind of spooky, because, really, look at that creepy lookin' cover! It took me a while to finish, because I always got sidetracked when I was reading this. The story really didn't pick up until the last few chapter, which made the rest of the novel to seem like it went really slow.

The ending was quite the cliffhanger, so I might just have to pick up a copy of The Away, the sequel to The Line, when in comes out next year.

Ghost Huntress: The Reason

Ghost Huntress: The Reason
by Marley Gibson

Two months ago Kendall Moorehead had a premonition of her own death. But life seems to be going pretty good. Her and Jason are better than ever, her and he fellow ghost huntresses are getting numerous gigs in and around Radisson.

Their most recent gig is at the Mayor's mansion. This just happens to be the most intense hunt they have been on. And this ghost is not a happy one. Kendall and her team have to make her see the light, or Kendall's premonition might become reality.

Grade: A

This book was just as great as the first ones in the series. Kendall was a little more distant in this one though. Emily, her guide, isn't answering questions, which makes Kendall suspicious. Jason is more protective of her than ever before. Jason's and Taylor's mother has an incident, which changes the courses of all their lives, and the ghost huntresses as well.

This was the shortest of the books so far, and I think it was my least favorite. (If you have read this, you probably know what I am talking about.) I still love Kendall and her friends. Their gig at the mayor's house was really intense, and it took over the whole book. The secret that Kendall finds out about herself was amazing. I didn't see it coming, and yet, it made total sense, and I didn't see how I hadn't seen it coming! I cannot wait to see what happens to Kendall in The Counseling!

*reviewed for TeensReadToo

it's that time again!

I am off to be a counselor at one of my most favorite places in the world:

Camp Trollhaugen! I will be back in 2 weeks. I am bringing along a book or two, but I can't promise any reviews. But once I'm back, I will be back to my regular reading. Talk to you in 2 weeks!

Confessions

Confessions: A Private Novel
by Kate Brian

from Amazon:

Reed Brennan came to superposh Easton Academy to make a brand-new life for herself. At first it seemed as though her dream had come true-she was living in the ultraexclusive Billings Hall, hanging out with the all-powerful Billings Girls, and dating the very hot Thomas Pearson. But Thomas turned out to be different from what she thought...and then he turned up dead. And if that wasn't twisted enough, Reed's new boyfriend, Josh Hollis, was arrested for Thomas's murder.

Now everyone is back to worrying about the regular stuff, like how to sneak to the boys' dorms at night, whether two-ply cashmere is warm enough for fall, and whether to fly to London or Barcelona for Thanksgiving break.

Everyone except for Reed.

Reed is convinced that Josh is innocent, which means the killer is still out there. Now it's up to Reed to uncover the truth. But the deeper she digs, the more secrets she unearths and the closer she gets to the confession that will change everything...if she's alive to hear it.

Grade: A

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*
GEEZ! Drama, drama, drama! But that is such a good thing for this series! Josh is in jail, and Reed is trying to save him. How sweet! The book got so intense at the end. A few points towards the middle, I really wanted to jump into the book and punch Noelle in the face. I even got annoyed with Reed. She kept on saying that Noelle, Ariana, and Kiran, etc. were her friends. I just can't picture them being "friends" with the way they treated each other! It was pretty crazy. And the ending! Ohmygosh. On to the next!

Untouchable

Untouchable: A Private Novel
by Kate Brian

from Amazon:

Reed's boyfriend, Thomas Pearson--the popular, easygoing, irresistibly handsome and charismatic boy she fell in love with--is dead. No one knows how it happened, and everyone is after the truth. Or are they?

Life at Easton Academy begins to feel very different. Taylor is acting like the poster child for Prozac, Kiran is spiking her cornflakes, Noelle is being kind of...nice, and Arianna keeps floating along as if nothing has happened.

Thanksgiving break arrives and Reed and Josh find themselves alone on campus. They are forced to confront the feelings they've been hiding. Those feelings combined with an empty campus result in the hottest hookup Reed could possibly imagine. But when Reed breaks the news about Josh to the Billings Girls, there's no fun game of tell-all. Instead, Josh begins to look like suspect No. 1 in the murder of Thomas Pearson.

The perfect life Reed has constructed as a Billings Girl begins to crumble. And as everyone becomes more convinced of Josh's guilt, Reed's private suspicions lead her somewhere she doesn't want to go.

Grade: A

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Like I previously mentioned, I am HOOKED! These books are getting better and better. I simply love Reed. And I LOVED Reed and Josh together. I could feel the chemistry between them more so than between Reed and Thomas. (Team Josh! =P ) I'm really curious to find out what happens in the next book. Taylor is gone, and she tells Reed to not believe what Noelle, Ariana, and Kiran are telling her. And Josh has been arrested! :O Exciting stuff! On to the next!

Thanks!

I would like to thank Ruz for awarding me with "The Versatile Blogger"!

The Rules:
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

Seven Tidbits About Moi:
1. I love my niece and nephew dearly. They just happen to be dogs. Their names are Kona (miniature pinscher) and Toby (chiweenie), and they are the most adorable puppies in the world!

2. I love kids. Being a camp counselor to 9 to 12-year-olds made me realize for sure that I wanted to be a teacher.

3. I have played the flute for about 10 years. (I need to get back into it!)

4. My favorite band is Relient K. They are a Christian band, and it is silly, because I am not religious in the least.

5. I love buying things, but I hate spending money.

6. Green Machine is the name of my car.

7. My favorite number is three. I'm not even really positive why, but I have always loved the number more than all the others. :)

Some Bloggers I Award:
I haven't met any bloggers recently, so I'll go with 5 bloggers!

1. Breanna
2. Krysten
3. S.F. Robertson
4. Cara
5. Faye

Thanks again! It means a lot to me!