Topic: Good vs Evil

A Wind in the Door

When six-year-old Charles Wallace tells his sister he’s found dragons in the pasture, Meg doesn’t want to believe him. But lo and behold, Meg and her friend Calvin discover the enormous creature with hundreds of wings and thousands of eyes. A giant man claiming to be their Teacher tells them the dragons—which are really one creature, a cherubim—is one of their classmates. They’ve been brought together because evil creatures called Echthroi are trying to destroy creation—from the largest stars down to the tiny mitochondria in Charles Wallace’s cells. With her brother’s life on the line, Meg must learn how to love even her enemies or the Echthroi will succeed in destroying her brother and perhaps all of creation.

What follows is a fantastical conflict between the forces of good and evil; a struggle of life and love against hatred and destruction. Meg, Calvin, and the cherubim must work together to save Charles Wallace’s mitochondria from the Echthroi that would destroy. They are transported into Charles Wallace’s cells and meet the farandolae that lives inside his mitochondria. The farandolae have been led astray by the Echthroi and are refusing to grow up, killing the mitochondria. Meg and her classmates have to show the farandolae a better way and rescue them from the Echthroi, before the misguided farandolae kill the mitochondria, Charles Wallace and themselves.

Once again Meg complains and resists the tasks that are given her, but she rises in the end and learns how to look for the good in people even if she doesn’t like them. A Wind in the Door is more complex than A Wrinkle in Time and may be confusing for younger readers as it deals with mitochondria and the relativity of space and size. Still, for readers able to grasps its more complex topics, A Wind in the Door is a fun read that imparts the importance of loving your enemies and looking for the good in everyone. While A Wind in the Door doesn’t discuss religion directly, its storyline and themes are allegorical. For instance, the cherubim and Teacher explain that there is a battle between life and darkness, and to save Charles Wallace the children must protect the ‘song of creation’ from evil forces that would disrupt it.

A Wind in the Door is not a science book, but it does combine quantum physicals and biology to show that people are galaxies unto themselves. In order to accomplish this, the main character is reduced to the molecular level, which is made believable through L’Engle’s use of imagery. Besides being an interesting story, the reader learns about the importance of compassion, friendship, and love. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the nature of human relationships should read A Wind in the Door.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • The farandolae don’t want to grow up so they suck the nutrients from adult farandolae, called fara, killing them in the process. “A group of farandolae whirled about a fara; fronds drooped; color drained. The dance was a scream of laughter, ugly laughter.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Meg has a run in with an Echthroi impersonating Mr. Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins, “rose up into the night like a great, flapping bird, flew, screaming across the sky, became a rent, an emptiness, a slash of nothingness.”
  • Meg meets a cherubim. “Wings, it seemed like hundreds of wings, spreading, folding, stretching—and eyes how many eyes can a drive of dragons have? and small jets of flame.”
  • Meg’s teacher is a “huge” man whose “long robe seemed chiseled out of granite.”
  • A large black garden snake acts strangely human, bowing to Meg’s new teacher. While the snake never speaks, it’s said that she too is a “Teacher.”
  • Meg is shown how the Echthroi destroy matter; how they turn it into nothingness. “Across the sky, where the stars were clustered as thickly as in the Milky Way, a crack shivered, slivered, became a line of nothing-ness.”
  • Meg learns how to kythe, a form of mind-to-mind communication. “It’s how cherubim talk. It’s talking without words, just the same way that I can be myself and not be enfleshed.”
  • Farandolae, things that live inside mitochondria, are depicted as “a small, silver-blue mouse…[that] spoke, but with neither a mouse’s squeak nor a human voice. The sound was like harp strings being plucked under water.” Meg and her friends are transported inside a mitochondria, to help the farandolae.

Spiritual Content

  • What Charles Wallace thought were dragons turns out to be a cherubim.
  • The cherubim tries to explain exactly what the Echthroi are. “I think your mythology would call them fallen angels. War and hate are their business, and one of their chief weapons is un-Naming—making people not know who they are. If someone knows who he is, really knows, then he doesn’t need to hate.”
  • When Meg tries to stop the Echthroi, she sings the song of creation, “Sing for the glory of the living and the loving the flaming of creation sing with us dance with us be with us Be! They were not her words only. They were the words of Senex, of the Deepening Sporos…the cherubim and seraphim, wind and fire, the words of the Glory.”

by Morgan Lynn

A Wrinkle in Time

Meg’s father is a physicist. Or at least he was, before he disappeared. While her mother insists that he will come back, Meg and the rest of the town doubt he’ll ever return. It doesn’t help that Meg is having trouble at school and thinks that her curls, glasses, and braces make her a “moron.” In fact, Meg is convinced that her life will be terrible forever–until Mrs. Whatsit blows into her kitchen one stormy evening.

Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which definitely aren’t from Earth, and Meg doesn’t trust them. But her little brother Charles says they’re alright, and Charles has always been able to see below the surface of people. When Mrs. Whatsit says they can help the children find their father, Meg doesn’t care what they are, as long as they can help. Suddenly Meg finds herself traveling to other planets with Charles and their friend Calvin. Together will the three of them be able to rescue Meg and Charles’ father? Or will they too become lost?

A Wrinkle in Time has memorable characters that will quickly find their way into readers’ hearts. Meg is very relatable to young readers, as she deals with her fears, her braces, and with not fitting in at school. Watching Meg struggle, grow, and find her inner strength will leave readers cheering for her. The beautiful, imaginative planets that Meg journeys to will awe and delight.

Throughout A Wrinkle in Time, Meg will glimpse a cosmic battle between good and evil, light and darkness, and knowledge and ignorance. While rescuing her father is just a tiny piece of this battle, Meg’s journey is filled with gravitas. Numerous lessons are learned along the way: Meg learns how to be brave, how to take responsibility rather than blaming others, and she discovers the one thing that the Shadow doesn’t have: love.

Sexual Content

  • The rumor is that Meg’s father “left your mother and [went] off with some dame.”
  • When Meg has to go into mortal danger to save her brother, she says goodbye to Calvin. “Calvin came to her and took her hand, then drew her roughly to him and kissed her. He didn’t say anything, and he turned away before he had a chance to see the surprised happiness that brightened Meg’s eyes.”

Violence

  • Charles thinks a man is a robot, so he “darted forward and hit the man as hard as he could.” When he realizes the man is not a robot, he says, “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
  • The mind in charge of a planet that has been lost to the Dark Thing tells Meg, “We let no one suffer. If it is so much kinder simply to annihilate anyone who is ill . . . Rather than endure such discomfort they are simply put to sleep.”
  • When Charles is hypnotized, Meg tries to knock him back to his senses. “She hurled herself at him. But before she could reach him his fist shot out and punched her hard in the stomach. She gasped for breath.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Charles says, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
  • Moron is used often. The town thinks Charles is a moron because he never talks, and Meg calls herself a moron several times. When Charles speaks to Calvin, Calvin is surprised. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be the moron?”
  • Calvin calls Charles and Meg “dope” several times as an affectionate nickname. “Look, dope. I just want to get things straight.”
  • Ass is used once. Mrs. Who says, “And old ass knows more than a young colt.”

Supernatural

  • Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which are not from earth, though they can appear in human form. It’s never directly stated what they are, but it’s mentioned that Mrs. Who is a “paltry few billion years” older than Mrs. Whatsit, and that Mrs. Which is even older.
  • At one point, Mrs. Whatsit morphs into a new form. “Outwardly Mrs. Whatsit was surely no longer a Mrs. Whatsit. She was a marble white body with powerful flanks, something like a horse but at the same time completely unlike a horse, for the magnificently modeled back sprang a nobly formed torso, arms, and a heard resembling a man’s but a man with a perfection of dignity and virtue.”
  • The children tesser across space (a form of faster than light travel) several times with Mrs. Which. “All light was gone. Darkness was complete . . . Just as light and sound had vanished, she was gone, too. The corporeal Meg simply was not . . . She was lost in a horrifying void.” They visit several different planets and meet the occupants of those planets.
  • The children visit the “Happy Medium,” a very happy woman who can see the entire universe through a crystal ball.
  • The children visit a planet that has been lost to the Shadow. There, they find a man who is possessed by IT, the mind in charge. “His eyes were bright and had a reddish glow. Above his head was a light, and it glowed in the same manner as the eyes, pulsing, throbbing, in steady rhythm. Charles Wallace shut his eyes tightly. ‘Close your eyes . . . He’ll hypnotize you.’ ”
  • The children finally meet IT and realize, “It was a brain. A disembodied brain. An oversized brain, just enough larger than normal to be completely revolting and terrifying. A living brain. A brain that pulsed and quivered, that seized and commanded.”

Spiritual Content

  • On one of the planets they visit, centaur-esque creatures are singing a song of pure joy. Mrs. Whatsit tries to translate the song into words: “Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles; and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift their voice; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory onto the Lord!” When Meg hears the song, she “felt a pulse of joy such as she had never known before.”
  • The children learn their father was taken prisoner while fighting the Dark Thing. Meg sees the Dark Thing, a huge shadow stretched across space. “What could there be about a shadow that was so terrible that she knew that there had never been before or ever would be again, anything that would chill her with a fear that was beyond shuddering, beyond crying or screaming, beyond the possibility of comfort?” When they ask what it is, Mrs. Which says, “Itt iss Eevill. Itt iss thee Ppowers of Ddarrkknesss!”
  • The children realize that many people have fought the darkness on Earth for years. Mrs. Whatsit says, “They’ve been lights for us to see by.” They include Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Bach, Pasteur, Madame Curie, Einstein and more.
  • Meg’s father said, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
  • When struggling to describe Mrs. Whatsit to aliens, Calvin says they are “Angels! Guardian angels! Messengers! Messengers of God!”
  • Before Meg goes to confront It, Mrs. Who tells her, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble men are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are.”

by Morgan Lynn

 

 

The Burning Bridge

For years, the Kingdom of Araluen has prospered, but everyone knows the evil Lord Morgarath is plotting the kingdom’s destruction. Lord Morgarath has been hiding safely behind the impassable mountains. He’s been patiently building his Wargal army, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

When Will and his friend Horace, an apprentice knight, travel to a neighboring village, they find a frightened maiden named Evanlyn. The young woman miraculously survived a Wargal attack. As the three journey towards Araluen, they discover the unsettling truth. Morgarath has finally devised a plan to bring his legions over the mountains. Will, Horace, and Evanlyn must warn the king’s army of the imminent danger of being crushed. While the three are surrounded by Wargals and are running low on supplies, Will and Horace are determined to save the king’s army.

The Burning Bridge continues the story of Will, a Ranger’s apprentice, and Horace, a Battleschool student. As Araluen prepares for war, the two young men accompany Ranger Gilan as he journeys to the neighboring county to seek reinforcements. The companionship and respect between the group paint a vivid picture of friendship during medieval times. Despite their friendship, each man must do what is best for their country, even if that means leaving a friend behind. The story uses a third-person omniscient point of view to focus on Will and Horace’s thought process, which allows the reader to understand their actions.

Although Will and Horace are only apprentices, they play a vital role in saving the kingdom. The apprentices’ actions are realistic because their skills are constantly being improved as they travel with Gilan. Each character, no matter their station, has an important role in the kingdom. From the king to the cook, each person helps in the war efforts. Readers will enjoy the positive male relationships as well as the introduction of Evanlyn, who is determined to help her country.

The Burning Bridge is a story of war, friendship, and sacrifice. The descriptive battle scenes focus on the destruction of war and never glorifies the battle. Each person, including the king, loses someone they love. Although the sacrifices were necessary, each character feels the loss. Even though the death scenes are not described in gory detail, lives are lost.

The Burning Bridge has many positive aspects: well-developed characters, a believable setting, and realistic, exciting conflicts. The story’s long descriptive scenes and advanced vocabulary (such as traverse, caprice, incognito, incipient, vehemently, and emphatically) make the story best-suited for strong readers. The Ranger’s Apprentice Series must be read in order because the plot builds on the previous book. Those who have read The Ruins of Gorlan will also enjoy The Burning Bridge.

Sexual Content

  • Will thinks about Alyss. Will “shifted uncomfortably as he thought of her. Alyss had kissed him after his homecoming dinner at the inn and he still remembered the soft touch of her lips.”

Violence

  • While traveling, Halt and Will come across a man who is surrounded by Wargals. The man’s “long sword held them at bay, but the Wargals were making small feinting movements toward him trying to find an advantage. They were armed with short swords and axes and one carried a heavy iron spear.” Halt approaches and tries to help the man. “Realizing the swordsman was distracted, he darted forward and ran the spear into his body. A second later, Halt’s arrow buried itself in the Wargal’s heart and he fell dead beside his stricken prey.” Halt shoots an arrow and his “second shot dropped the left-hand Wargal.” When a Wargal goes after Will, “Halt’s fourth arrow took it in the throat. At such short range, the arrow tore clean through. With a final grunting shriek, the Wargal fell dead on the grass.” The fight is described over two pages.
  • Two men, Carney and Bart, try to rob Horace and Will. Horace “darted forward and his sword flashed in an overhead cut at Carney. . . Carney barely had time to bring his own blade up in a clumsy parry. Thrown off balance and totally unprepared for the surprising force or authority behind the stroke, he stumbled backward and sprawled in the dust.” Horace knocks Carney to the ground and then swung his fist, “hammering the heavy brass pommel of his sword hilt into the side of Bart’s head.” When Bart tries to get up, Horace “turned and casually raised his sword, swinging it to clang, flat-bladed, against Bart’s skull.” The two men are tied up and eventually set free. The fighting is described over five pages.
  • Halt throws two nobles into a moat. “A group of servants were busy emptying the privy buckets into the moat when they were startled by a sudden drawn-out cry. They looked up in time to see a scarlet-and-gold clad figure sail out of a first story window, turn over once and then land with an enormous splash in the dark, rancid waters.”
  • Will and Horace see a group of Wargals pass by with prisoners. A prisoner, who was a miner, falls and causes others to fall down. “The two prisoners who had been brought down struggled to their feet, under a rain of lashes from their captors. The miner who had caused the fall lay still, in spite of the vicious whipping from the Wargals.” The dead prisoner is left on the side of the road.
  • Will and Evanlyn attempt to burn down a bridge in order to prevent the Wargals from crossing. Wargals and Skandian armies appear and try to stop the group. Will “nocked an arrow to the string and, barely seeming to aim, sent it hissing toward the lead Wargal. The arrow buried itself in the Wargal’s chest and he fell, crying out once, then lay silent.” Will and Evanlyn try to hide from the enemy, but a “rock took him in the side of the head and he grunted in surprise, then his eyes rolled up and he fell at her feet, dark blood already welling from his scalp.”
  • When Will is injured, a Skandian grabs Evanlyn. “The Skandian held her in a bear hug, her feet pressed onto the rough sheepskin of his vest, smelling of grease and smoke and sweat all but suffocating her. She kicked out, lashing with her feet and tossing her head, trying to butt the man who was holding her, but to no avail.” The bridge scene is described over six pages.
  • Halt and his men defeat a group of Skandians who were preparing a sneak attack. Although the fighting is not described, Halt says, “We caught them totally by surprise and cut them to pieces.”
  • During the battle, a bugler didn’t hear Morgarath, so Morgarath “whipped the man across the face with his leather-covered steel riding crop. . . The bugler, ignoring the agony of the whip cut and the blood that poured down his forehead and into his eye, raised a horn to his lips and blew. . .”
  • During the final battle against the Wargals, “fully half of his [Morgarath’s] Wargal soldiers were lying broken in the dust of the battlefield.” Part of the battle is described through Horace’s point of view. Horace “had watched as Wargals and horses had all died and their bodies sprawled now in the dust of the Plains of Uthal like so many scattered rag dolls. It had been fast and violent and confusing.”
  • Trying to escape the Wargals, a group of Skandians attack. “The Wargal tried to bring his iron spear up in defense, but he was a fraction too slow. The heavy ax sheared through his armor and he went down. . . But the Wargals hadn’t left their group unscathed. As he spoke, Nordal staggered and sank slowly to one knee. Bright blood stained the corner of his mouth and he looked hopelessly at his leader.” The man eventually dies.
  • Horace and Morgarath battle to the death. Before the battle begins, “Horace felt his throat go dry as he realized he was now fighting for his life.” As the two fight, “Horace’s left arm, his shield arm, was rendered completely numb by the terrible force of the blow. . . Now Horace used the shorter blade of his sword to lunge at the gap that had opened between shield and body and drove the point at Morgarath’s ribs. . .But the black armor held against the thrust, which was delivered from a cramped position and had little force behind it. Nonetheless, it hurt Morgarath, cracking a rib behind the mail armor, and he cursed in pain and jerked at his own sword once more.”
  • During the fight, Horace’s shield breaks. Morgarath took the opportunity and “slammed the double-handed hilt of the sword into the side of the boy’s helmet and onlookers groaned in dismay as Horace fell from his saddle.” Horace is dragged several meters and then regains his feet. The two enemies continue the fight on foot.
  • As the battle continues, Morgarath uses his broadsword. “The broadsword began its downward arc, splitting the air. And now Horace, throwing everything into one final effort, stepped forward, crossing the two blades he held, the dagger supporting the shortened sword. . . Horace’s knees buckled, then held, and for a moment Morgarath and he stood locked, chest to chest. . . Morgarath felt a deep, burning agony pour through his body as Horace slipped the dagger free and, with every ounce of his strength behind it, drove it through Morgarath’s chain mail and up into his heart.” Morgarath dies. The fight is described over eight pages.
  • The Skandians take Will and Evanlyn hostage, forcing them onto a boat. Halt follows, trying to catch up to the Skandians and save Will and Evanlyn. “Halt was riding without reins now as he unslung the longbow and laid an arrow on the string. At a full gallop, he sighted and released. The bow oarsman gave a grunt of surprise and lurched sideways over the gunwale of the boat as Halt’s heavy arrow slammed into him, transfixing his upper arm.” Halt continues to rain arrows on the enemy and hits several other men who “lay groaning in pain. The other was ominously still.” The scene is described over three pages.

Language

  • Damn is used nine times. Darn is used once.
  • When Gilan sees a village void of people, he asks, “What the hell is going on here?”
  • After reading a parchment, Baron Arald asks, “Pauline, do you understand what this idiot is getting at?”
  • Halt tells the baron that a nobleman “is a nincompoop and a fool.”
  • My God, by God, and Oh God are used as exclamations five times in total.
  • When looking at the enemy, someone says, “My god of battles, he doesn’t half give me the creeps, that one.”
  • “Gorlon’s teeth!” is used as an exclamation once.

Supernatural

  • Will sees a group of Wargals. “Bearlike in build, they had long muzzles and massive yellow canine fangs, exposed now as they snarled at their prey. They were covered in shaggy fur and wore black leather armor.”
  • Morgarath has control of the Wargals’ minds. “Without minds of their own, they were almost without fear.” Morgarath can give the Wargals instructions by using mind control. During the battle, “the Wargals heard the words and his [Morgarath’s] thoughts in their mind.”

Spiritual Content

  • While traveling through Celtica, the narration says, “the Celts had their own religion, which had to do with gods of fire and iron.”
  • When a Skandian is severely injured, he asks for his sword. “Skandians believed a man must die with his weapon in hand if his soul were not to wander in torment for eternity.”

Cape

Josie O’Malley’s family is all doing their part in fighting the Nazis. While her father is off fighting in the war, Josie’s mother works two jobs and Josie works at a diner to help pay the rent. Josie wishes she could do more—like all those caped heroes who now seem to have disappeared. Josie can’t fly and control weather like her idol, Zenobia. But when Josie sees an advertisement for puzzlers, she thinks maybe she can put her math smarts to use cracking puzzles for the government.

After Josie takes the test, the official throws all of the girls’ tests in the trash. Josie is disheartened, but it soon becomes clear that a top-secret agency has been watching Josie, along with two other applicants: Akiko and Mae. The three girls all love superheroes like Fantomah, Zenobia, and the Black Cat. The girls never dreamed that they would have powers like their favorite superheroes. But when a villain sets fire to a building and puts innocent people in danger, the girls step up to help and discover that they have new superhero powers. As the girls’ abilities slowly begin to emerge, they learn that their skills will be crucial in thwarting a shapeshifting henchman of Hitler, and, just maybe, in solving an even larger mystery about the superheroes who’ve recently gone missing.

Readers will fall in love with the endearingly imperfect girls who highlight the importance of helping others. The diverse cast of characters includes Josie, who is Irish, Akiko, who is Japanese, and Mae, who is African American. The diverse characters give the readers a glimpse of the prejudice of the time period. Akiko’s family was put in a Japanese internment camp even though her brother was fighting in the war. When Josie and her friends go into a restaurant, the manager chases them away because they don’t serve “their kind.” It is at this point that Josie realizes that “prejudices were a lot like allergies. They made it hard for us to really see.”

Josie and her friends love to figure out puzzles and secret messages. They give examples of different ciphers and explain how to decipher them. Even though Josie and her friends have the brainpower to solve puzzles, the girls are treated unfairly. At one point, Josie wonders if she really is just a “stupid girl.” However, she soon learns that others, including her Aunt Kate, are using their mathematical minds to help defeat the Nazis. Cape brings the ENIAC Six into the story and shows how the pioneer programmers did important work during World War II.

Even though the story talks about superheroes, the superheroes’ attributes are never fully explained. Despite this, readers will understand how the superheroes helped encourage Josie and her friends to be better people. Cape blends historical facts into an entertaining, action-packed story that teaches that girls can do anything. Themes of prejudice, friendship, and fighting evil are developed using kid-friendly descriptions. Even though some of the story’s elements are not fully explained, readers will still enjoy the story.

Cape might even encourage readers to learn more about World War II, and the story lists recommended resources for readers who want more. The story ends with historical information on the ENIAC Six, the spy ring, radio news reports, and a list of recommended resources. Cape will leave readers with a positive message that “you’re the one who decides what kind of person you’ll be.”

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A group of bullies steal Josie’s brother’s bikes. Josie tries to get them back. When she sees one of the boys who stole the bikes, she “whipped my broom out ahead of me and caught his feet, I sent him spilling onto the sidewalk. . . I pressed the handle of the broom to his chest, in the little round spot just between his collarbones.”
  • When a bully implies that Josie’s father is dead, she gets upset. Then the boy “shoved me back. I stumbled a few steps but caught myself. Without thinking twice, I dove for him, knocking him to the ground.” When Josie’s friends try to help her, the boy “and the others knocked Akiko to the ground.” One of the boys “kicked at” Mae who then, “stumbled onto the pathway, scraping one of her knees.”
  • Mr. Hisser tries to flee a building, but the Stretcher “reached out to grab Mr. Hisser. His long black arm stretched nearly the whole length of the room! Just as the Stretcher caught hold of Mr. Hisser’s suit collar, the room erupted in a burst of white light. . .” After the smoke clears, Josie “noticed a few sparks sizzling into the smoky air. All that remained of the Stretcher was a pair of black boots, a shimmery black cape, and a black mask.” Someone explains that “This is what we’re up against. . . A force darker than any of us could have imagined. With each attack, another caped hero disappears. Vaporized.”
  • Mr. Hisser set a building on fire. Josie, Akiko, and Mae use their powers to get people safely out of the building. No one is injured. The scene is illustrated over 11 pages.
  • Mr. Hisser and his crew plan to blow up a ship. The men put dynamite in fake rats. The girls attack Mr. Hisser, who turns into a snake and hits the girls with his tail. One of the girls is injured and Mr. Hisser carries her away in his snake mouth. The scene is illustrated over 11 pages.
  • Later, Akiko says she used fire to get away from Mr. Hisser. Although the scene is not described, Josie notices Mr. Hisser’s head, “which was red and blistery from a burn.”
  • Josie tells her brothers a story about their father fighting in the war. Their father was eating breakfast when he heard the air-raid sirens. “. . . Daddy raced upstairs as enemy fire strafed the quarterdeck. Dodging bullets and bombs, he rushed to an injured crewmate and threw him over his shoulder.”
  • A boy and his friends put a rope around a raccoon’s neck. In order to help the raccoon, Mae “unleashed a gale-force wind and knocked Toby and the other bullies to the ground. As they climbed to their feet, Akiko transformed into a bowling ball and knocked Toby out at the knees. Again he fell to the ground, this time scraping the palms of his hands.” During the confrontation, Josie “used a bit of telekinesis—staring at one, two, three, four, five heads, then flicking my eyes—to knock their skulls together.” The boys run away.
  • Mr. Hisser and his gang show up at a top-secret location. When he sees the girls, “Mr. Hisser flicked his dangerous rattlesnake tail and slammed it into the building, just above our heads. Wood and bricks exploded into the air, then crashed down around us. . . Akiko flung fireballs at his henchmen in the street.” During the fight, “his deadly split tongue shot from his mouth and slammed me [Josie] backwards into the lamppost. My head rang like a telephone, but I had to shake it off.” Josie saves some “innocent people,” then notices that she was bleeding. “One of the Hisser’s razor-sharp fangs must have sliced my skin.” Josie picks up a car and “using all the strength I could muster—and with searing pain shooting through my left shoulder—I heaved the car forward. It landed on the Hisser’s deadly tail with a devastating thud.” The action is described over 10 pages.
  • The action continues over 12 illustrated pages. One of the girls hits Hisser with a chair. People are hit with furniture, Hisser is wrapped in chains, and a man is hit over the head with a machine that is like a typewriter. The FBI arrive and arrest Hisser.
  • Hisser escapes. “Hisser’s hideous snake form fled the room, his scaly, serpentine body slithering around and around in a dizzying hypnotic threat. With a whip of his rattlesnake tail, he swatted Harry and the agents. They flew backward, slamming into the blinking black steal of the ENIAC machine.” One of the girls changes into a mongoose, and “she lunged for the Hisser’s throat with her sharp front teeth as Mae and I dodged out of the way.” The scene is described over five pages.
  • Hisser captures three women and attempts to kidnap them. Josie used “all my powers of concentration, I imagined the statue ripping off its pedestal and hurtling into the path of the Hisser’s oncoming car. As soon as I thought it, the statue followed the direction of my eyes and soared through the air, landing just in front of the Hisser’s wagon. Brakes screeched, but there was no time for the Hisser to stop.” Hisser is arrested and the captives are set free.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • The characters call others names. The infrequent use of name-calling includes: marauding meatheads, lunkhead, knucklehead, fleas, dumbbell, knuckleheads, brats, and traitorous scum.
  • Hisser calls the girls names, including: Green Fungus and Emerald Irritant.
  • Several times, one of the characters uses “Hauntima’s ghost” as an exclamation.
  • Someone calls Hisser “demon reptile.”

Supernatural

  • In the story, superheroes exist and have different abilities, such as: flying, super-human strength, shape-shifting, telekinesis, causing weather events (like wind), controlling fire, teleportation, etc.
  • Josie Akiko and Mae link arms. When Josie talks about doing something good, “a beam of golden light burst from the center of our huddle, radiating upward from our connected hands . . . And the air hummed like it was filled with a thousand bumblebees. . . The crackling electrical charge exploded in my ears now, and energy shot through my veins. . .” Then the girls gain super powers, including how to fly. After the three completed their task, their “costumes suddenly morphed back into our regular clothes, right before our eyes.” This process happens several times.
  • When handling a difficult situation, Hauntima’s ghost appears and gives the girls guidance. Sometimes when Hauntima appears, she has an “angry skulled face.”
  • Mr. Hisser can turn into a snake.
  • Josie gets injured, but her injury heals quickly.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Unravel Me

Juliette has escaped from The Reestablishment, who wanted to use her as a weapon. She no longer has to hide her love for Adam. But even though Juliette can now make plans, she can never be free from her lethal touch. And even though she doesn’t want to hurt people, she cannot contain her power, and others continue to suffer at her hand.

Juliette doesn’t decide if she wants to join the resistance until Warner threatens her friends. When her friends are taken captive, Juliette knows she must join the fight. But she is haunted by her past and terrified of her future. In the end, Juliette may have to choose between her heart or saving lives—including Adam’s.

Although Unravel Me has an interesting premise, readers will find it difficult to connect with Juliette because she cannot look past her own needs. Not only is Juliette whiny, but she also constantly berates herself and apologizes for her actions. Instead of focusing on understanding her power, Juliette allows her powers to take control, which leads her to hurt others. Instead of taking action, Juliette repeatedly says she’s sorry, but the apologies lack depth because she does nothing to learn how to control her power and prevent further harm.

The evil leader, Warner, reappears in the second installment of the series. Although Warner is self-centered and craves power, Unravel Me tries to paint him in a more positive light. Soon Juliette is confused by her growing attraction to the man who tried to kill Adam. Even though Juliette is trying to understand Warner, the three-way romance just doesn’t work. Juliette was so devastated when she hurts others, but she is somehow willing to overlook Warner’s killing nature. Instead of feeling sorry for Warner, the reader will be left confused. How can Juliette have intense romantic feelings for a power-hungry man who is willing to kill to get what he wants?

Unfortunately, Unravel Me spends so much time delving into Juliette’s emotional pain and indecision that other characters never have the opportunity to make more than a quick appearance. Instead, readers will have a difficult time caring about what happens. Although the story is unique, there are just too many plot twists that don’t make sense. Readers may want to consider leaving Unravel Me on the shelf. If you’re looking for a fast-paced story with a sprinkle of romance, try A Little in Love by Susan E. Fletcher or the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie.

Sexual Content

  • Adam kisses Juliette. “His left hand is cupping the back of my head, his right tightening around my waist, pressing me hard against him and destroying every rational thought I’ve ever had . . . Somehow I end up on top of him. He reaches up only to pull me down and he’s kissing me, my throat, my cheeks, and my hands are searching his body, exploring the lines, the planes, the muscle . . . This moment. These lips. This strong body pressed against me and these firm hands finding a way to bring me closer and I know I want so much of him. I want all of him. . .” The two only stop kissing when Juliette’s power begins to hurt Adam. The scene is described over five pages.
  • Juliette asks a man if he spied on her when she was changing. He replies, “. . .you are definitely not my type. And more importantly, I’m not some perverted asshole.”
  • Warner shows Juliette a tattoo on his lower back. She thinks, “I want to study the secrets tucked between his elbows and the whispers caught behind his knees. I want to follow the lines of his silhouette with my eyes and the tips of my fingers. I want to trace rivers and valleys along the curved muscles on his body.”
  • Warner asks Juliette to run away with him. Then he grabs her, and she feels “his skin against my skin and I’m holding my breath. . . I don’t say a word as his hands drop to my waist, to the thin material making a poor attempt to cover my body. His fingers graze the soft skin of my lower back, right underneath the hem of my shirt and I’m losing count of the number of times my heart skips a beat.” Then he kisses her and “he traces the shape of my mouth, the curves the seam the dip and my lips part even though I asked them not to. . .” When he kisses her, she thinks, “His lips are softer than anything I’ve ever known, soft like a first snowfall, like biting into cotton candy, like melting and floating and being weightless in water. . . He kisses me again, this time stronger, desperate . . . His lips touch my bare stomach. . . He’s leaving a trail of fire along my torso, one kiss after another, and I don’t think I can take much more of this. . .” Juliette freaks out and Warner leaves. The scene is described over ten pages.

Violence

  • When Juliette sees Adam being experimented on, she freaks out. She punches “my fist right through the floor. The earth fissures under my fingers and the reverberations surge through my being, ricocheting through my bones until my skull is spinning and my heart is a pendulum slamming into my rib cage.” After her anger is spent, Juliette sees that her “skin is torn and blood is everywhere and I can’t move my fingers. I realize I’m in agony.”
  • After taking hostages, the supreme commander demands to see Juliette. When she arrives, “He’s pinned me against the wall by the throat, his hands carefully sheathed in a pair of leather gloves, already prepared to touch my skin to cut off my oxygen, choke me to death and I’m sure I’m dying, I’m so sure that this is what it feels like to die, to be utterly immobilized, limp from the neck down. . . He lets go of me.”
  • Later, the supreme commander tells his son, Warner, to kill Juliette. When Warner points the gun at his father, his father says, “Shoot me. . . So much talk and never enough follow-through. You embarrass me.” Warner’s father “backhands Warner in the face so hard Warner actually sways for a moment. . .”  Then Juliette grabs Warner’s father’s neck and thinks, “I’ve pinned him to the wall, so overcome by a blind, burning, all-consuming rage that I think my brain has already been caught on fire and dissolved into ash.” Juliette shoots the man in both legs and she is “entertained by the horror in his eyes. The blood ruining the expensive fabric of his clothes. I want to tell him he doesn’t look very attractive with his mouth open like that but then I think he probably wouldn’t care about my opinion anyway.” One of Juliette’s friends pulls her away before she can kill Warner’s father. The scene is described over four pages.
  • In Juliette’s diary, she talks about the day she was taken to the prison. The guards “handcuffed my hands behind my back, the one who strapped me to my seat. They stuck Tasers to my skin over and over for no other reason than to hear me scream but I wouldn’t. . . They slapped me awake even though my eyes were opened when we arrived. Someone unstrapped me without removing my handcuffs and kicked me in both kneecaps before ordering me to rise. . . I really can’t remember the part when they dragged me inside.”
  • In a skirmish between the resistance and the Reestablishment, the Reestablishment’s soldiers “are unloading round after round, shooting at anything that could be a target. . . One man has his hands to the ground, freezing the earth beneath the soldier’s feet, causing them to lose balance. . .” One of the men collects a whirlwind of particles and forms a cyclone. When he lets go, “the soldiers are shouting, screaming, running back and ducking for cover but most are too slow to escape the reach of so much destruction and they’re down, impaled by shards of glass and stone and wood and broken metal but I know this defense won’t last for long.” Juliette uses her powers to cause an earthquake, which allows the resistance fighter to escape. The scene is described over six pages.
  • The Reestablishment gathers a group of citizens together to kill them. In order to try to help the citizens, Juliette and her friends discuss their options. While they talk, they see “27 people lined up, standing side by side in the middle of a big, barren field. Men and women and children of all different ages. . . One of the soldiers fires a shot. The first man crumples to the ground. . .” During the scene, Juliette’s “eyes are locked on a little girl who can’t be much older than James, her eyes so wide, so terrified, the front of her pants already wet from fear and it rips me to pieces. . .” Juliette and her friends shoot at the soldiers and they “see one [bullet] find its mark in a soldier’s neck. . . We’re dodging the bullets aimed in our direction and I see Adam dropping to the ground, I see him shooting with perfect precision and still failing to find a target. . . 3 soldiers go down almost instantly.”
  • During the fight, Juliette sees “dead dead dead is everywhere. So many bodies mixed and meshed into the earth that I have no idea if they’re ours or theirs. . . I’m tackled from behind. Someone pins me down and my face is buried in the ground and I’m kicking, trying to scream but I feel the gun wrenched out of my grip. I feel an elbow in my spine. . .” A soldier points a gun at Juliette, and “I’m only clawing at his covered arm, at the muscle he’s bound around my neck and he shakes me, shouts at me to stop squirming and pulls me tighter to cut off my air supply and my fingers are clenched around his forearm, trying to fight the viselike grip he has around me and I can’t breathe and I’m panicked. . . I’ve crushed all the bones in his arm. . .” Someone hits Juliette on the head, making her “almost entirely unconscious.” The scene is described over 10 pages.
  • Warner’s father shoots Juliette in the chest. She thinks, “My heart has exploded. I’m thrown backward, tripping over my own feet until I hit the floor, my head slamming into the carpeted ground, my arms doing little to break my fall. It’s pain never thought I could feel, never would have even imagined.” Juliette doesn’t die from the wound.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Adam talks about his father, who would only come around “to get drunk and beat the crap out of someone.” After Adam’s mother died, his father would “come by just to get piss-drunk. He used to force me to stand in front of him so he could throw his empty bottles at me.”

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Towards the end of the book, the profanity ramps up and appears on almost every page. Profanity includes ass, asshole, bullshit, bastards, crap, damn, dumbass, goddamn, hell, holy shit, jackass, and shit.
  • “Oh God,” “God,” and “Jesus” are used as exclamations often.
  • Juliette remembers the world before the Reestablishment took over. She “remembers the pissed-off skies and the sequence of sunsets collapsing beneath the moon.”
  • When Adam tries to tell Juliette how he feels, he ends up saying, “Jesus. What the hell am I saying. Shit. Shit. I’m sorry—forget that – forget I said anything. . .”
  • One of Juliette’s friends yells at her. “And I should kick my own ass for it, but I feel sorry for you. So I tell him I’ll help. I rearrange my entire goddamn schedule just to help you deal with your issues.”
  • One of Juliette’s friends says, “Jesus. How early is it? I would kick a soldier in the crotch for a cup of coffee right now.”
  • When someone calls a man a “fetus,” the man gets angry and says, “I am mad. I’m pissed off. And I’m cranky as hell because I’m tired. And hungry. And I need more coffee.”
  • Someone says Adam’s father was being a “dick.”

Supernatural

  • Many characters have special powers. Juliette is trying to learn how to harness her energy. “Our gifts are different forms of Energy. Matter is never created or destroyed. . . as our world changed, so did the Energy within it. Our abilities are taken from the universe, from other matter, from other Energies.”
  • When Juliette touches someone, she drains the life out of them.
  • The first book in the series explains how Juliette goes to a compound where she meets a man who can move things with his mind. There is also a man who tells her, “Sometimes I electrocute people by accident” and another who is really flexible. He “loops one arm around his waist. Twice.”
  • At the compound, two women are healers—one heals the physical body and the other heals emotional wounds. The healers “can set broken bones and repair bullet wounds and revive collapsed lungs and mend even the worst kinds of cuts.”
  • Another person can “blend into the background of any space. Shift myself to match my surroundings.”
  • Adam discovers that he can project his ability and can disable others’ abilities.
  • Adam’s brother can heal quickly.
  • Warner can sense other people’s emotions, which allows him to know when someone is lying. He can also be a conduit to transfer other people’s energy.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Dragon Captives

Identical twins Fifer and Thisbe have amazing, uncontrollable magical abilities. They want to learn more about magic, but their brother Alex is the head mage of Artimé and he doesn’t think the girls are ready. Alex knows the girls are more gifted than anyone else, including himself. In order to keep the girls from learning any magical spells, Alex orders everyone in Artimé not to do magic in front of Fifer and Thisbe.

On the Day of Remembrance, an ice blue dragon named Hux shows up with terrible news. His siblings have been enslaved by the notoriously evil Revinir, the ruler of the dragon land. In order to survive, Hux needs someone to return to the dragon’s land to make the dragons new wings. Without Alex’s help, Hux’s sibling will die. Although Alex feels bad for Hux, Alex refuses to leave Artimé.

When Thisbe and Fifer discover Hux’s need, they decide to help the dragons themselves. The girls want to show Alex they are ready to be taught how to use their magic. Thisbe, Fifer, and their friend Seth sneak away to rescue the dragons. Will their untrained abilities be enough to save the dragons—and themselves—when they come face-to-face with Revinir?

Readers will quickly connect to Thisbe, Fifer, and Seth, who want to prove that they can do something good. When the children take off on their journey, they don’t expect to find a hostile land where they will be imprisoned. Despite being in a strange new land, the three spend most of their time trapped in a prison. Because of their plight, each of the characters discover the importance of perseverance.

Dragon Captives is set ten years after the great battle that left Thisbe and Fifer without parents, which will cause confusion for those who haven’t read The Unwanteds Series. The first part of Dragon Captives has many of the same characters as The Unwanteds Series. Even though the story tries to recount the important events from the previous series, readers will have an extremely tough time learning about the magical world and keeping track of the many characters that were developed in The Unwanteds Series.

Even though readers may struggle with the beginning of the book, readers will not regret staying with the story. Once the children make it to the dragon’s land, the story shows interesting cultural differences between the two worlds. Magical spells, chase scenes, and betrayal all come together to make Dragon Captives a fast-paced, exciting story. The action-packed scenes are not gory; however, some readers may be upset by the idea of humans being sold to the highest bidder. Dragon Captives does not have a feel good ending. Instead, the story ends with a scary cliffhanger that will have readers reaching for the next book in the series, Dragon Ghost.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A magical creature in the shape of a scorpion chases Thisbe and Fifer. The girls try to escape by climbing a tree, but “the scorpion slid to a stop below them. It gripped the tree with one of its pinchers. Then it snapped the trunk in two, sending the top portion with the girls in it falling through the air and crashing to the jungle floor.” Thisbe’s ankle is caught under the tree, and the “scorpion, moving steadily towards her with its poisonous tail raised, knocked her flat with its pincher. Then it pinned both girls to the ground with its spindly front legs.” A magical Panther appears, and the frightened Thisbe uses a magic spell. “Sparks flew from the girl’s fingertips and slammed into Panther’s flank. The creature’s scream stopped abruptly. With a loud crack and a horrible thud, the black stone beast hit the ground. Slit completely in two.” The girls escape and someone is able to fix the Panther. The scene is described over five pages.
  • Thisbe has strong, uncontrollable magic. When she was two years old, she killed someone—“an actual human.” “She’s also nearly killed others in her younger years, including Alex, with almost effortless magic that was beyond her control.”
  • Fifer and Thisbe go into a town when a man grabs them. “Thisbe whirled around in surprise, she felt a strong calloused hand reaching over her mouth, then a scratchy cloth placed over her nose that had a sickly sweet smell. She tried to scream. . . She gasped for breath, the horrible sweetness from the cloth permeating her nose and throat, and traveling to her brain. She felt a strange fuzziness creep in and take over her. . .” She passes out and wakes up a captive.
  • A snake tries to bite a boy named Dev. “Thisbe pointed at it (the snake). ‘Boom!’ she cried. As Dev twisted and spun around, trying to get away, the snake’s head froze in midair. For a split second it hung there. Everyone held their breath. And then the snake exploded into dozens of pieces that went flying far and wide.”
  • When Thisbe, Fifer, Seth, and the dragon Hux get to the castle, they are taken prisoner. “The soldiers forced the children to one side, taking their supplies for the wings and throwing them to the ground. Then they whipped poor Hux until he backed into the empty stall and they continued whipping him even though he was doing exactly what they told him to do.”
  • Thisbe yells at a guard, and “immediately the soldier pushed Thisbe against the wall. He pulled a dagger from his belt and pressed the point to Thisbe’s chest.” Seth and Fifer try to help, but “the other soldier grabbed Fifer and Seth and pulled them back while the two holding Thisbe dragged her to the ramp and began to ascend it.” Thisbe is taken deeper into the prison and locked in a cell.
  • As the soldiers were forcing Thisbe to leave her friends, Thisbe “flicked her fingers the best she could, hoping something else would happen. Fiery sparks flew out of them, hitting the soldiers in the face. . . the head soldier held her, kicking and screaming. Next to her, Seth landed a well-placed kick and managed to break loose from his captor. . . He pulled out a few scatterclips and sent them flying. They snagged one soldier, dragging him backward and stacking another behind the first, and pinned them to the wall.” In the end, Seth and Fifer are separated from Thisbe.
  • Seth tries to look for Thisbe, but a soldier “stuck out his leg, tripping the boy. Seth went sprawling hands first and landed on his stomach. The head soldier grabbed him by the back of his vest and brought him to his feet, then pulled his dagger and held the point to Seth’s neck.”
  • While trying to escape, one of the dragons “torched anyone who got in his way.” When the dragons got close to the door, “the dragons roared and dove for the exit, dodging spears and swords, spewing fire from their mouths with reckless abandon, caring only about their freedom now. . .”
  • Simber and Seth try to find Thisbe, but soldiers stop them. “A valiant soldier stood fast in front of Simber, holding a spear pointed at the cheetah’s eye. Simber ducked and plowed into him. The soldier and his spear flew up in the air and landed hard in the path of dust and rubble Simber left behind him. One by one Simber clobbered all the men and women who stood in his way.”
  • Seth uses the glass spell. “This time a sheet of glass appeared between him and the soldiers, cutting them off. They slammed into it. The last thing Seth saw was four faces pressing against it before he turned and vaulted onto Simber’s back once more.
  • When Simba and his friends were trying to escape the prison, “soldiers charged, but Simber batted at them with his wings or butted them with his head and didn’t slow down. Before long, he was trampling the ones who wouldn’t get out of the way. As soon as the Artiméans came to the entryway, Simber spread his wings wide, knocking more soldiers down, and began flapping.”
  • When Simber and his friends were running from the guards, someone began lowering the gate. One of the stakes “caught the collar of Thatcher’s shirt. Thatcher was violently yanked off Simber’s back and thrown to the ground under the portcullis. . . The sharp iron points were about to run him through. He screamed and rolled away, his shirt ripping down the back.” Thatcher is able to escape unharmed.
  • Thisbe and Fifer were tied up and taken to the market to be sold. During the ride, “their wrists were tied down.” When they arrive at the market, the soldiers “shackled the girls to two wooden posts.”
  • Simber tries to save Thisbe and Fifer, but he didn’t notice the glass barrier. “Before anyone could warn him, Simber smashed right through the invisible glass barrier that Thisbe had cast in front of Fifer. The girls screamed. Shards of glass flew everywhere. . . Fifer’s face, at first joyous at seeing Simber coming toward them, turned to shock at the impact, and then horror afterwards as she glanced down at her body. Bright red bloodstains spread over her clothing. And then, without a word, she slumped unconscious, only her shackles keeping her from falling face-first to the stage.” Fifer is wounded and Thisbe is kidnapped.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Crud is used six times. Seth tells a dragon, “go up the ramp and torch the crud out of any soldiers who come this way.”
  • Thisbe says someone is “kind of a jerk.”

Supernatural

  • Artemé is a magical island that has “creations carved from stone or molded from clay and brought to life with strong magic.”
  • People can travel through a large glass tube. When Thisbe and Fifer press the button, “the girls’ world went dark for a second or two. When it became light again, they were looking upon a completely different landscape. Indeed, they were on a completely different island, far from home—it would take several days’ journey by ship to get here.”
  • One of the characters is an octogaor, “who had an alligator head and an octopus body.”
  • When Fifer lets out a whoop, glass breaks. Fifer can also make glass disappear and reappear.
  • In the past, Artemé’s mage was killed and “Artemé had disappeared because the world couldn’t exist without a head mage running it. Every last one of the living statues and creatures. . . had immediately ceased to be alive.”
  • Alex “rarely did magic anymore, other than simple spells like flicking on a highlighter in a dark corner of the Museum of Large or sending a seek spell whenever he couldn’t find his sisters and wanted them to come home. A seek spell merely required him to hold an artistic item created by the person he was seeking.”
  • A dragon, Hux, goes to Artemé hoping someone can make him new wings so he can fly again. Later, Thisbe and Fifer sneak in to see Alex turn vines, flowers, and cloth into dragon wings. Alex “closed his eyes and concentrated for several moments, imaging the wing taking flight. He pictured it sparkling in the sun, flowing with ease, as light and free as the petals that adorned it… And finally he spoke a single wood. ‘Live.’ The wings began to move.”
  • In Artemé, “a blackboard was like a magical host in the living area of each apartment. Each personality delivered messages, kept an eye on the residence, offered help, guidance, and sometimes attitude, and some even shared gossip from the other blackboards.”
  • Thisbe can make invisible hooks. “Thisbe quirked her finger away and pointed at a wall. A spark shot out and supposedly an invisible hook attacked itself to the wall, though neither girl felt like going to feel around for it.”
  • In order to get out of a locked cell, Thisbe uses magic to make the bamboo grid come to life. “The bamboo grid began to billow, and suddenly the top right corner of it worked its way out of the stone. It waved this way and that, and with a series of little pops, the grid came loose one bar at time. . .People in the market noticed what was happening. A wave of panic spread through the area. . .the people in the marketplace ran away screaming, and the grid, filled with exuberant magical life, wiggled and tumbled and chased after them.” The girls are able to escape. As they flee, the prison door chases Seth. “A moment later one corner of the bars hooked Seth by his shirt and took him on a ride into the air. Then it slammed him into the ground and dragged him around again in the same manner as it rolled through the square.” Eventually, the girls are able to pull Seth free and “he hit the ground with a sickening thump, his face slamming into the pavement. Luckily some squashed tomatoes kept him from hitting it too hard.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

 

The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade

Surviving their first winter after the Monster Apocalypse was no easy feat, yet Jack and his buddies waste no time springing to action against some of the nastiest, most evil monsters around. When Jack discovers his Louisville Slicer has new otherworldly powers, he’s thrown into epic training to find out what kind of destruction the blade can wield. But between fighting off zombies, fleeing from strange, glowy Vine-Thingies erupting from the ground, and squeezing in a video game session or two, there’s barely time left to figure out what’s wrong with their buddy, Dirk. Dirk has been acting weird any time he’s around the undead. When an unexpected villain appears, can Jack and his friends save themselves—and the rest of the world—from cosmic domination?

The fifth installment of The Last Kids on Earth brings back some old friends and enemies. The action-packed sequences begin with Jack and his friends trying to help Dirk get over his depressed state. Younger readers will enjoy the entertaining activities that Jack plans to help Dirk. However, the fight scenes with the Vine-Thingies may be slightly confusing. In the end, Jack learns that “being different and not fitting in—that’s good sometimes.”

Like the previous books, the story will keep readers entertained with its fast pace, funny scenes, and epic battles. The easy-to-read text contains dialogue bubbles, alliteration, and onomatopoeias that make reading the story a joy. The black and white illustrations that appear on almost every page bring the kids’ world to life as well as adds humor.

At first, The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade may look like just another graphic novel. However, the characters are surprisingly well-developed and readers will come away with a valuable lesson about working together. Both the human kids and the monsters work together to defeat evil. Throughout the story, Jack realizes he has to do what’s best for his friends, even when it may be painful for him.

This story can be understood without reading the previous books in the series, but for maximum enjoyment readers should read the books in order. Readers will like The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade because the story keeps the same humorous, non-frightening format as the previous books. The story ends with a conclusion that makes it clear that Thrull will return, and it gives the possibility that Jack’s friends just might find their parents.

Sexual Content

  • Jack and Bardle need a place to keep a group of zombies. They ask a monster if the zombies can stay on her property. Warg gives her permission, but says, “there is one condition.” Jack replies, “I don’t have to watch you guys make out, do I?”

Violence

  • Jack and his friends sneak into Ghazt’s lair and are discovered. Biggun tries to help Jack and his friends by “hurling zombies right and left. June and Quint are back-to-back, battling the Cabal of the Cosmic. Crack! Ghazt’s tail smacks me, and I’m hurled across the room. I land against a half-inflated pile of bowling lane bumpers.” During the fight, “Skaelka’s razor-sharp blade slices through Ghazt’s tail! The creature SHRIEKS. His eyes go wide and his face contorts into an ‘oh no now my tail is just a nub’ face.” Ghazt eventually falls through the floor and disappears. The fight scene is described over seven pages.
  • A huge eyeball is attacked by vines. Jack and his friends try to help the eyeball by attacking the vnes. Dirk screams “MALLET MELEE!!!” and the fight begins. “Each goo-slime-covered swing melts, slices, and tears through the vines! Soon, only one titanically thick Vine-Thingy still chokes it.” The group try to help but, “Vine-Thingies burst through the pavement, like hundreds of spindly branches. They clutch Hairy Eyeball monster. The monster shrieks and struggles, but it’s no use. An instant later, the eyeball is gone—pulled, howling, into the crumbling pavement.” The battle is described over ten pages.
  • The vines try to capture Jack and his friends. Someone “uses the Gift’s Wolverine-style blade to slice through vines. Green goo splatters the ground.” The kids run for their lives.
  • In an effort to take control of the zombies, Thrull appears. When Bardle raises his sword, “Thrull lifts the war hammer and it seems to hang in the air, defying gravity, then he swings. A crashing boom. A flash of energy. And then metal crunching—Bardle slamming into a nearby car. Thrull’s blow catapulting him out of the wreckage and across the street.” After a ten page battle, Bardle dies.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Freaking is used occasionally.
  • Crud is used seven times. When June makes a joke, Jack thinks, “the teasing—it makes it all feel normal again. And I appreciate the crud out of June for it.”
  • When Bardle is hurt, Jack says, “Holy crud, that scared me!”
  • Jack calls Thrull a “DOOF! WAD!”

Supernatural

  • When Jack swings the Slicer at a zombie, Jack feels “the Slicer catch—like the blade and the zombie are connected by some strange magnetism.” Everything freezes, then “the hovering zombie is thrust down, too. Its knees buckled and it crumples to the floor in a drooling, groaning heap.”
  • A Scrapken, which is an octopus-like creature, grabs Jack’s hand, causing him pain. Jack uses the Slicer to cut off the Scrapken’s tentacle. “The Scrapken howling. Dirk stammering. Me clutching my arm and shouting up at the monster.” Jack apologizes and “the severed tentacle waves in front of me, leaking thick blue-green ooze.” The tentacle acts like a glove and allows Jack to hold the burning hot Slicer.
  • Thrull and the kids fight to get Ghazt’s tail because of its ability to control zombies. When Jack touches the tail a “big mass” of “dark other-dimension energy” courses through his glove. The “rat tail’s skin begins to bubble. It’s being pulled into the glove. . . I smell burning and I see the last bit of energy extracted from the tail. After the process is complete, Thrull’s left with a long, winding, skeletal appendage.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Dodging Dinosaurs

Get ready for Chase and Ava’s newest adventure! When they touch a dinosaur egg inside their magical suitcase, Chase and Ava jump back to prehistoric times. They’ll need to work to return the egg to its rightful nesting place before they become dinosaur dinner. How will they find the right nest to put the dinosaur egg in? Will they run into the bad guy, Randall, who keeps following them?

Siblings Chase and Ava jump back into the dinosaur age. As they search for the right nest to place the egg, the two befriend a baby dinosaur as well as run from giant stinging bugs. The story contains some interesting dinosaur facts and begins to answer the mystery of the suitcase. Even though the storyline is not completely believable, readers will enjoy the non-stop action, mystery, and dinosaur facts.

Dodging Dinosaurs is part of Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. Black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. Dodging Dinosaurs introduces several characters that appeared in previous books, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order.

In Dodging Dinosaurs, the villain Randall jumps in to save the kids. Randall tells the kids, “As of right now, I officially quit stealing things from history. The Collector isn’t going to like it.” Even though Dodging Dinosaurs solves one mystery, readers will be eager to discover who the Collector is and why he wants historical artifacts. Dodging Dinosaurs focuses on a positive sibling relationship and will entertain readers who are ready for chapter books.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Chase and Ava are time jumpers. When they go back in time, they meet another man from their time period. Chase tells the man, “You’re definitely a time jumper. You could open the suitcase, which regular people can’t. You traveled when you touched one of the objects inside. And you remember both timelines—the one where the brontosaurus was in the museum, and the one where it wasn’t. We’re pretty sure only time jumpers can do those things.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Merciful Crow

In the world of Sabor, the Phoenix Caste reigns supreme, the Hawk Caste does their best to maintain the peace, and the Crow Caste are scorned by all. Fie, a future Crow chief, is a teenage girl who’s roped into helping the Crown Prince Jasimir and his body-double Tavin. Together, all three must outrun Queen Rhusana’s expert trackers and killers.

But what’s supposed to be an easy journey to deliver the Prince into an allied governor’s hands quickly turns into much more than Fie or the rest of her Crows ever expected. Hunted by Queen Rhusana’s handpicked trackers, the Vultures, Fie must summon everything she has to outwit and outrun her pursuers. The conflicts only get harder as she begins to fall in love with Tavin, a love that shouldn’t be possible.

From the moment the book begins, it’s an endless adventure that never fails to deliver on the harrowing journey Fie must undertake. With the class-based society Sabor revolves around, the Crows (Fie’s caste) are universally snubbed and hated by the other castes. This is a theme that hits the reader on the head throughout the story. Despite this, Fie, Jasimir, and Tavin are likable protagonists that help to anchor the story.

While the story is similar to Romeo and Juliet, Owen manages to keep The Merciful Crow fresh. The easy-to-read story is written with wonderful pacing that will keep the reader gliding through each chapter. With a good blend of fast-paced action and romance, the book will hook the reader from the beginning until the very end. The Merciful Crow has several surprises and fun twists that add to the quick scenes. Fie’s relationship with Tavin is also a highlight as the two use the journey to grow both as people and as lovers. While the characters feel underdeveloped at times, they are still fun assets to the story.

The Merciful Crow will delight those who want an action-based adventure story set in a troubled fantasy world. The story features a strong female protagonist and has a theme of fighting against prejudice in a hateful world. Even though the plot is not unique—the main protagonists are forced to journey together and eventually fall in love—The Merciful Crow is a fun tale because of the mix of action and love. The Merciful Crow would be a great addition to any young reader’s bookshelf.

Sexual Content

  • Madcap, a Crow, belted “another lewd and anatomically improbable verse of ‘The Lad from Across the Sea’” when dancing with Fie. Madcap is the only Crow with lewd songs, and he sings them another 2-3 times. The actual words of the song itself are never specified.
  • When Fie uses her magic and sees visions of the past. She sees “a lover waiting in the amber-pod gardens”.
  • Fie reminisces about the past when she thinks, “She might have softened her tongue for Hangdog long ago, when the two of them slipped away to more private groves.”
  • When Tavin is trying to distinguish Fie’s preferences, “Madcap made a crude gesture that suggested exactly what they thought Fie trucked with.”
  • When bantering with Tavin, Fie says, “Wager I’ve spent more nights ready to die for my kin than you’ve spent rolling palace girls.” She uses this against Tavin a few more times, often to catch him off guard.
  • Hangdog gets angry at Fie’s relationship with Tavin: “Just because he can’t rut his own women out here doesn’t mean he’s welcome to ours.” Hangdog consistently berates Fie and Tavin in this way. He confronts Fie again: “You’re only good to his kind on your knees.”
  • Another Crow asks of Fie (when it’s only her, Jasimir, and Tavin), “You a-feared of getting with child, too?”
  • Speaking about the Swan Caste: “Swans don’t rut inside the caste…At least, not to conceive.”
  • While wanting to take a bath in a river, Fie thinks, “stripping down in front of lordlings didn’t sit right.”
  • When waking up to find Tavin had gone to wash up in a hot spring, Fie thinks, “The notion of Tavin washing up in a hot spring had an entirely different effect on her.” Jasimir notices Fie’s obvious desire, and says, “I’m not utterly oblivious…But you’re only going to get hurt.”
  • On watch duty with Tavin, Fie kisses him. “He didn’t kiss her back so much as drown himself in her.” She reminisces, as she and Tavin strip down to sleep with each other, that “Before, when she’d lain with Hangdog, it had been matters of urgency, a hasty exchange of services.” She goes on to say, “Tavin too moved with urgency, but it was a curious kind, a need to discover every place that made her shiver…” Afterward, Tavin explains why he never wanted to get anyone pregnant, saying, “Gender’s never mattered to me, but I-I didn’t want to get anyone with child.” This scene takes place over multiple pages.
  • When tempers flare between Jasimir and Tavin as they’re being chased, Jasimir says in regards to Fie, “My condolences if that conflicts with who you want in your bed this week!”
  • Tavin kisses Fie before sacrificing himself to become a decoy. “He pulled Fie to him and pressed a swift, soft kiss to her mouth.”
  • When traveling with only Jasimir, Jas says, “Don’t tell me you’re worried that I’ll get you with child.”
  • When Tavin’s mother asks if anyone has something to say, Fie says, “Tavin and I slept together…Since you’re asking.”
  • When speaking about his father and mother to Fie, Tavin says, “…he’d been drunk enough to command Mother to his bed while Aunt Jasindra was still at the reception.”
  • After coming to terms with each other, Fie says to Tavin, “If I’d known I’d rutted a half prince, probably I would’ve bragged about it more.” Once made up, Tavin “kissed her back, careful at first, then spiraling into dizzy, feverish glee…” Eventually, Fie manages to say, “My room,” telling Tavin to sleep with her again. This scene happens in two pages.
  • When Tavin and Fie are say goodbye to each other at the end, Tavin “opened his mouth, shut it again, and, without a word, pulled her into a long, hard kiss.”

Violence

  • The very first line of the book is, “Pa was taking too long to cut the boy’s throats.” Because of a plague running rampant in Sabor, the Crow Caste – being the only caste immune to the disease – end up being called to mercy kill the plague victims before the plague overcomes the victim. This type of scene is brought up again. In another scene, Fie thinks about what would happen if they didn’t kill the victims. “Two weeks in, the dead would be piled up, the crops blackening in the fields.” When Pa proceeds to kill a plague victim, “There was a savage jerk. The sinner died smiling.”
  • The sight of blood is frequently shown. For example, “Damp red streaked down the front of Pa’s robes. He’d dealt a mercy killing, then.”
  • After bringing the supposedly dead prince out to the cart, Fie wonders “if Phoenix boys burned like any other sinner.” Fie then notices, “Death-stink hadn’t settled on the boys yet, but she still flinched at the crimson stains on their shrouds.” Fie “didn’t intend to punch the boy, but she did all the same.”
  • When Hangdog tries to touch Tavin, he found himself “standing stone-still as a sword point strummed the skin beneath his chin.”
  • When discussing the Crow’s mercy killings, Pa asks Jasimir, “You ever listen to a child die by fire?”
  • When Hangdog, Fie’s former lover and a fellow Crow, attempts to betray the Princes, “An arrow sank, soft and immediate, into Hangdog’s eye.” Hangdog dies, and the Crows (not including Fie, Tavin, and Jasimir) are taken hostage. A Vulture witch tells Fie, “Oldest woman in your kin, caught a few too many arrows from us on the bridge.” That woman is Wretch, and she survives the wounds. After Viimo, the witch, tells Fie about Wretch, Fie destroys Viimo’s hands. “One moment Viimo’s hands were hands; the next they were a tangle of raw red flesh and tattered skin.”
  • When dealing with more hate from a Sparrow butcher, Tavin uses his magic to boil the man. “The butcher crumpled, screaming, as blisters boiled over his blackening flesh.”
  • As Fie, Tavin, and Jas are ambushed, “The rest was a frenzy of noise, steel, and blood. One body fell, then another—”
  • Fie gets angry with Jasimir, “Then she slapped the prince.” To stop Jasimir from giving their position away, Fie tackles Jasimir to the ground and “Fie flipped the broken sword and leveled its jagged, trembling point to Jasimir’s right eye.”
  • When attacked by ghasts, Fie attacked the creature with the broken sword: “It sank to the hilt without a sound, but the flesh round her throat stayed iron-solid.” When Jasimir kills an Oleander in the same scene, “Steel flashed, a thorn darting through torchlight.”
  • While fleeing the Vultures sent by the Queen, Fie and Jasimir are shot at, “Then an arrow sailed over her head and into the trunk of a ghost tree.” Another arrow later hits Fie. “She didn’t feel the arrow when it buried itself in her thigh.”
  • When Fie confronts Tatterhelm and the Vultures chasing after her and Jasimir, they fight. “He slammed her into another wall.” This scene takes place over several pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Fie “smirked up at him, a little jump-drunk from swinging betwixt fear and relief.”
  • When Jas teaches Fie to write letters, she thinks “hers were overlarge and tilting like a drunk.”
  • After hiding from an ambush, Fie and the others find “The supplies they’d abandoned were knocked about the clearing as if a drunkard had bumbled into them…”

Language

  • At the very beginning, Fie says, “Twelve hells,” a saying that pops up very frequently throughout the story.
  • When finding the stray cat, Pa says, “Covenant’s crap she is, Fie, but we’ll talk your share later.”
  • When they first meet, Wretch calls Tavin and Jasimir “royal louts.”
  • Tavin says, early on, “The damn patchouli, that’s what she called it.” Damn pops up occasionally in the book.
  • Hangdog calls Prince Jasimir a “piss-baby.”
  • Jasimir calls Fie a “bone-thief,” a slur aimed at Crow witches. This pops up occasionally in the book.
  • Hangdog, getting mad at Jasimir, says, “When was the last time your powdered ass set foot off the palace grounds?” Ass is used occasionally in the book.
  • An Oleander, a hunter of Crows, calls Fie’s band “filth.”
  • Fie calls Tavin a “bastard boy.” Bastard is used occasionally in the book. Part Three is titled: “Bastards and Gods.” Soon after, as Tavin tries to help her down from a tree, Fie tells him to “get scummed!”
  • Master-General Draga called King Surimir, “gilded dung.”
  • Viimo tells Tavin to “Choke on horseshit.”
  • Jasimir tells Fie after they lose Tavin, “Fuck the oath!”

Supernatural

  • War-witches are witches meant specifically for battle. Fie thinks, “King Surimir fancied the war-witches as his palace guards, warriors who healed wounds just as easily as they tore their foes apart from within.” Tavin is considered a war-witch due to his Hawk caste standing and his job as Jasimir’s bodyguard.
  • Fie thinks about how she and Hangdog had “both been born witches, and for Crows, that meant they were born to be chiefs.” There are only as many witches as there are dead gods, meaning only a thousand are spread throughout Sabor. Witches and magic pop up as the main premise throughout this book, and come in and out of the story very fluidly. Characters like Fie, Hangdog, Pa, Tavin, Viimo, and others unnamed use magic.
  • Fie and other Crow witches use people’s teeth to produce their magic. The teeth allow the Crows to access the Birthrights of the other castes – the special abilities the thousand dead gods once handed down to the people of Sabor. This happens frequently throughout the book, mostly through Fie.
  • Birthrights aren’t specifically mentioned as magic, but they are used in the same way. For instance, the Vulture caste members that are after Fie, Tavin, and Jasimir use their Birthrights alongside their own magic to track the trio. Birthrights are a major theme in the novel, as they call back to the caste system present in Sabor.
  • The Vultures use their magic at some point to create ghasts. Ghasts are essentially the undead. Hangdog’s corpse is eventually used against Fie in the final part of the book.

Spiritual Content

  • Throughout Sabor, a plague is present. People who come down with the plague are called “sinners.” For example, when Fie and Hangdog go to bring out the sinners at the beginning of the book, Fie thinks, “The steward had called the sinner ‘boys’ when he led the Crows in.” This happens frequently, whenever a plague victim is seen of mentioned.
  • The “thousand dead gods,” (or just “dead gods”) are mentioned frequently throughout the book. An early example: “But by the thousand dead gods of Sabor, Fie wagered they were starting to catch on now.” Fie thinks of a saying, “Dead gods be kind.” Very few of these dead gods are mentioned by name.
  • There are shrines the Crow Caste stops at throughout Sabor. These shrines are dedicated to their gods. For example, “The scattering of huts and god-grave shrines by the road eventually yielded to the twist-trunked, lichen-shawled forest.” These shrines pop up frequently, both literally and in conversation.
  • The dead gods gave out the Birthrights – special abilities given to each Caste. For instance, the Phoenix Caste (the ruling caste) was given the Birthright of fire, which allows them immunity to burning or fire-based injuries. Each Caste’s gods handed out Birthrights to their Caste, save for the Crow Gods. “She wondered, too much, why the Crow’s gods had left them no Birthright at all.” Birthrights come up frequently throughout the book.
  • Some Crow Gods are named early on when Fie and her Crows stop at a shrine. “Loyal Star Hama guarding sleeping crows, Crossroads Eyes leading them away from treacherous roads, Dena Wrathful and her hundred-hundred teeth.” Wretch, a Crow, “set on a new walking song, a marching hymn to the dead god Crossroads-eyes.”
  • A Phoenix dead god is named “Ambra, Queen of Day and Night, stood astride the sun, wreathed in gold Phoenix fire.” Fie uses her name against Jasimir saying, “But Ambra help me, you leave who’s bedding out of it, or I swear to every dead god—”
  • It’s mentioned that the “Swan caste had only three dead gods.”
  • It’s thought that every witch in Sabor is the reincarnation of a dead god. Madcap called Fie, “Little Witness: the dead Crow god,” when she was younger.

by Jonathan Planman

The Revenge of Magic #1

Thirteen years ago, books of magic were discovered in various sites around the world alongside the bones of dragons. Children born after this so-called “Discovery Day” have the power to use magic.

Fort Fitzgerald has no idea books of magic exist. Then, while on vacation with his father, a giant creature bursts through the earth, attacking Washington DC. The creature grabs Fort’s father, taking him underground. Fort is devastated and dreams of getting revenge. Six months later, a man named Dr. Opps invites Fort to a government-run school to learn magic.

Life at the school is difficult and Fort has no idea who to trust. Everyone is keeping secrets. What does Jia, Fort’s tutor, know about the attacks? Why does Rachel, master of destructive magic, think Fort is out to destroy the school? And why is Fort reliving memories of an expelled girl every time he goes to sleep? Fort must find the answers or more attacks will come–and this time nothing will stop the creatures.

The Revenge of Magic starts with action and adventure that continues to the very end. Many of the supporting characters are stereotypical, including trope roles such as: the bullies, the tough girl, and the closed-mouthed military commander. However, Fort and Cyrus, a clairvoyant, are well-developed and Cyrus’s matter-of-fact tone adds some much-needed humor to the story. Although Fort’s reason for hating the creatures that took his father is understandable, Fort’s focus on revenge may make it difficult for readers to connect with him.

Fort learns more about the attack on Washington DC through a series of memories that are shared with him. Even though the memories appear in a different font, some readers may have a difficult time keeping the past and the present separated. Several times the creatures are able to control humans, and one creature takes over a student’s body, transforming the human body into the alien’s form. In the end, the creatures reveal their desire to return to earth and enslave humans. The large cast of characters, the complicated plot, and several scary scenes make The Revenge of Magic best suited for stronger readers.

The Revenge of Magic is a strong start to a new series. Even though several mysteries are revealed, the ending leaves unanswered questions that will have readers looking for book two, The Last Dragon. Readers who enjoy high-action adventure stories should also try the Simon Thorn Series by Aimée Carter and the Snared Series by Adam Jay Epstein.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Giant hands erupt from the earth and attack. “Enormous black-scaled fingers pushed up through the ground, sending grass, rock, and dirt flying in every direction. A muffled roar sounded from somewhere beneath them, and Fort felt it even through the ground shaking.” As people flee, more hands erupt from the ground. “A noise like torrents of rushing water thundered behind him, and turned to find a nightmare rising from the middle of the Reflecting Pool, a giant black-scaled head covered in some sort of crown. . .More helicopters flew in, this time painted black, and these actually made it close to the creature. A missile rocketed out of one, slamming into its head, but the monster didn’t even seem to notice.”
  • As the hands attack, Fort tries to stay with his father, but “the creature’s hand curled around him, rupturing the remains of the memorial as it descended back into the ground. . . the creature’s massive hand disappeared within the earth, and his father went silent.” The battle takes place over eight pages.
  • Dr. Opps goes to Fort’s house to tell him about the school. When Dr. Opps touches Fort’s aunt, she collapses on the floor. Fort tries to attack Dr. Opps, but “before he could strike, though, something burning hot slammed into his side, sending him crashing across the room into the opposite wall. . . Fort groaned, rubbing his head, then quickly moved his hands around to feel where he’d been hit, finding his shirt blackened and charred by whatever it was that had struck him.”
  • While in the cafeteria, a student put his hand on the metal table. “His hand began to glow. . . Fort didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. His tray began to sizzle, turning white-hot with heat, and he yelped as it burned his hands.”
  • When Rachel sees three boys bullying Fort, she “flicked a finger, and a tiny magic missile slammed into the boy’s stomach, sending him crashing across the table, taking Fort’s burning-hot tray with him. He tumbled into the back wall as the soldiers nearby all leaped out of the way, their weapons now aimed at Rachel.”
  • A creature comes out of the ground and into the officer’s mess hall. The creature was “floating in midair. . . Whatever it was shimmered transparently, like a ghost or even a holographic projection. It wore some kind of opaque crystal armor, but beneath the armor, where a human being’s feet would have been, a multitude of tentacles squealed as they dragged across the floor.” A soldier tries to take Fort out of the room, but the creature turned to follow Fort. Then Dr. Opps “stepped between them, holding the same medallion he’d used on Fort’s aunt in her apartment. . . Dr. Opps shouted, and light shot out from the medallion, some sort of magical burst.” The medallion burst and the creature left. The scene is described over six pages.
  • Three bullies attack Fort in the dormitory. “Fort plowed into the boy, crashing them both to the ground. Blane landed hard, still surprised by the attack, and Fort punched him in the stomach, once, twice, a third time, rage overwhelming his mind. . . Someone yanked him backward, and he lashed out wildly but missed as Blaine rose unsteadily to his feet, one of his hands burning with a deep red flame.” One of the boys sets Fort’s shirt on fire. As the boys continue to threaten Fort, another boy “lunged forward, grabbing Blaine’s hand. The fire was extinguished, and the boy started to yell in pain as some sort of pustules begin to grow on his hand.” Chickenpox began popping up all over the boy’s body, ending the fight. The scene is described over four and a half pages.
  • The three bullies corner Fort. “Bryce’s hands pulsed with red energy, and Fort’s feet froze in place, ice forming on the ground around his boots.” Fort “swung his fist out wildly but only succeeded in almost falling over his stuck boots.” One of the boys sends a “magic missile slamming into Fort’s shoulder even as Fort tried to slap out the fire.” Eventually, a soldier stops the bullies.
  • Fort sees a memory of when Damian created a portal for the creatures to come through. Several students tried to stop the boy. A girl “slid toward Damian on the ground and threw a hand out to grab his ankle. Blue light began to glow from her hand, and the creature in the portal pulled back abruptly from Damian.” During the memory, Fort learned how the attack in Washington DC began. The memory is described over five pages.
  • Later Fort again sees the memory. “Damian stood in the middle of the room, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open, as a creature out of a horror book floated in the air above him, its transparent and vaguely humanoid body covered in crystal armor, its tentacle fingers locked on Damien’s head. . .” The creature uses Damian to communicate with the humans.
  • When Fort sneaks into the room where the books are kept, a student sees him. The student “leaned forward and grabbed Fort by the shirt, dragging him inside, then threw him down the stairs toward the podium with the books.” The girl throws a fireball at Fort and “he leaped into its path and took the spell right in his chest. Fire exploded all over his torso and face, and he quickly dropped to the ground, rolling around to put it out, trying his best not to shriek in pain in spite of the agony he felt.” Fort uses a spell to lessen the pain.
  • Fort is found in a girl’s hospital room. When he tries to escape, “the colonel grabbed Fort’s arm as he passed, then yanked it behind Fort’s back painfully. Fort immediately stopped short, groaning in pain, as two guards ran into the room.” Two guards take Fort to the disciplinary barracks.
  • Back in the memory, Fort sees “Damian raised a hand and sent a magic missile flying into the doctor’s chest. Dr. Opps went flying, slamming into the nearest wall, groaning as he landed on the floor. Sierra immediately cast Mind Blast, sending it at the creature’s mind, but Damian waved his hand as if batting aside an annoying insect, and the spell seemed to have no effect.” A student, Michael, tried to get Damian to close the portal and threw a fireball. “With no way to protect himself against his own spell, Michael took the fireball right in the chest, letting out a piercing scream. His clothes on fire, he dropped to the floor, rolling to quench the flames, but the magical blaze refused to go out, and the boy continued to cry out in pain.” Michael dies.
  • In an epic end battle, the Old One tries to come to Earth through a portal. One of the creatures takes over Michael’s body. “The shadowy, half-transparent Old One from the officers’ mess pushed its way into Damian’s body, overlapping him completely. . . The boy’s hands and feet stretched out and split into a mass of tentacles, as did his teeth, now protruding from a skull-like helmet. And within seconds, where there had once been a human boy, now there was only an Old One, Damian’s body transformed by the creature into its own form. . . Tentacles exploded out from the Old One’s hand, piercing the two soldier’s minds. They screamed, their bodies shaking violently, only to abruptly go silent and stand up straight. And then they turned their weapons on Fort.”
  • During the battle, “a giant black claw exploded through the floor beneath him, throwing the bed against the nearby wall as a second and third finger rose up around him [Fort].” Fort uses a healing spell to hurt the creature. Fort “wanted the creature to feel pain, as much as or more than what it had put him through when it had taken his father. . . The giant monster roared in anguish as the finger Fort held began to wither away, the muscle dying and the bones crumbling beneath his hand. . . Wrapping one arm around a finger, Fort watched triumphantly as the creature wailed in agony, its head slamming back and forth against the cavern wall.” When the finger goes back through the portal, another creature attacks Fort. “The creature’s tentacles reached out to surround Fort’s head, but this time, they pushed into his ears, nose, and mouth. He tried to scream but couldn’t get any air. . .”
  • The creature is able to create a portal in the sky. The students work together to try to stop the Old One. “. . . Rachel, meanwhile, went to fire another magic missile, but before she could, the Old One thrust its tentacles down towards her. . . One slicked into Rachel’s leg, dropping her to the ground. . .” The students are able to close the portal and the creatures leave. The action takes place over 42 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A student calls Cyrus a “future turd.”
  • A student says most of the Destruction kids are “jerks.”
  • A student calls Fort an idiot and a jerk.

Supernatural

  • During the attack on Washington DC, someone tried to take control of Fort’s body. “Fort watched his actions helplessly, almost from a distance, like he was staring down at himself from the wrong end of a telescope.”
  • Dr. Opps has a silver medallion that allows him to speak to others “mind-to-mind.” This medallion allows Dr. Opps to show his memories to Fort.
  • In the past, books were found that “contained formulas. The formulas, when read out loud, unlock previously inaccessible powers within the human body.” The use of the books allows some characters to gain the power of destruction, the power of healing, or clairvoyance.
  • In order to find out which power Fort can access, he must read a spell from one of the books. When Fort says a destructive spell, “immediately, power flowed through his body and out of his hands, setting them aglow.” He only makes a small flash. When Fort reads a spell from the healing book, “Fort’s hands seemed to lower in temperature, and he felt some weirdly cold energy leave his fingers and pass into the man’s arm. . . the cut had disappeared.”
  • Kids who were born on the day that the books were found can read them. Those before that day cannot read the books.
  • A student explains healing magic to Fort. “Healing is restorative, meaning it restores something to an earlier state. If you think about it that way, reattaching a leg is just putting something back where it belongs. The magic. . . encourages the leg to become what it used to be, one complete bone.”
  • Fort uses an “Ethereal Spirit” spell on himself and other students. The spell turns their bodies “ghostlike” and allows them to walk through walls. When he uses the spell, “at first, the magic made each of them glow a bit, which wasn’t exactly the best for sneaking round. But gradually each of them grew more transparent until he could see right through the others, and the glow disappeared.”
  • Sometimes Fort can hear others’ thoughts.
  • Healers can heal disease as well as give some a disease. Someone gave Fort the flu, and another student healed him. The student ran her hands “over his head and chest, and the energy passed into his body, immediately curing him of the flu.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Shatter Me

Juliette has always been an outcast. She doesn’t understand why she is different; she just knows her touch is fatal. After being locked in solitary confinement for 264 days, Juliette is shocked when she gets a new cellmate—a boy. Adam wants to be Juliette’s friend, but she doesn’t know if she can trust him. Then, the Reestablishment takes both her and Adam to a new facility.

The Reestablishment has plans for Juliette. Plans to use her as a weapon. Juliette doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Even though Juliette is still a prisoner, she is discovering the strength to fight back. She wants to have a future. With Adam by her side, Juliette plans her escape. When the time is right, will Juliette be able to escape the Reestablishment? Will Adam lead her to a better life, or does he have plans to betray her?

old from Juliette’s point of view, the story focuses on her thoughts and feelings. However, her thought process is often hard to understand as her thoughts are often described using figurative language. There is also no clear transition between her thoughts and what is actually happening in the story, meaning readers may have to go back and reread some scenes to make sure they understand the text.

The story has an interesting premise, but readers will have a difficult time suspending their disbelief. The story never explains why Juliette’s touch is lethal. Since Juliette’s touch is only lethal when her skin touches someone else’s skin, it is hard to imagine that no one has given Juliette a pair of gloves. Instead of helping Juliet protect others, her parents moved around after each disaster. When Juliette accidentally causes the death of a little boy, she is sent to prison and placed in an isolation cell. Once she is placed in the care of the Reestablishment, her main captor always wears gloves to protect himself. If her captor came up with the simple solution of gloves, why didn’t anyone else?

Juliette soon discovers that both Adam and her captor are immune to her touch. Since Juliette revels in the ability to simply touch another person, Juliette and Adam share steamy kisses between the high-action scenes. Although the plot is hard to believe, fans of dystopian stories will enjoy the unique characters as well as the battle of good versus evil. Full of suspense and surprises, Shatter Me is an action-packed story with plenty of steamy scenes. Readers will want to jump into the next book, Ignite Me, to see if Juliette finds freedom or just a different type of prison.

Sexual Content

  • When Adam holds Juliette, she thinks, “I wish I knew the taste of his lips.”
  • While Adam and Juliette are alone, he grabs her and puts her against the wall. Juliette is “trembling everywhere and he’s so gentle, so careful, touching me like I’m made of porcelain and I want to shatter. He’s running his hands down my body running his eyes across my face running laps with his heart and I’m running marathons with my mind. Everything is on fire. . . suddenly his lips are on my neck and I’m gasping and dying and clutching at his arms and he’s touching me touching me touching me and I’m thunder and lightning. . . ” The scene is described over two pages.
  • Adam tells Juliette that he loves her. Then, “his nose is touching my nose, his lips one breath away, his eyes devouring me already and I’m a puddle with no arms and no legs. . . His hands at my waist, gripping my hips, his legs flush against my own, his chest overpowering me with strength, his frame built by bricks of desire. . . He’s everywhere up my back and over my arms and suddenly he’s kissing me harder, deeper, with a fervent urgency that I’ve never known before.”
  • As Adam and Juliette kiss, she slips “my hands under his shirt and he chokes on a moan that turns into a kiss that needs me and wants me and has to have me so desperately it’s like the most acute form of torture. His weight is pressed into mine, on top of mine, infinite points of feeling . . . his lips are falling down my shirt and I don’t understand why I need to wear clothes anymore. . .” Their embrace is interrupted.
  • When Adam kisses Juliette, she gasps “and he’s kissing me, deep and powerful and unrestrained. His arms around my back, dipping my body until I’m practically horizontal. . .”
  • After Adam and Juliette escape, they get to a safe place and Juliette asks Adam to touch her. Then, “my face is in his hands and my lips are at his lips and he’s kissing me. . . His body is almost on top of mine, one hand in my hair, the other feeling its way down my silhouette, slipping behind my knee to pull me closer, higher, tighter. . . He takes my hands and press them against his chest, guiding my fingers as they trail down the length of his torso before his lips meet mine again and again. . . His hands slip under my shirt, skirting my sides, touching me like he’s never dared to before, and my top is nearly over my head when a door squeaks open. We both freeze.” The scene is described over two pages.
  • One of Adam’s friends tries to get him to move to a safer location. When Adam doesn’t hurry, the man shouts, “I mean, shit, man, I don’t think there’s ever a bad time to get naked, but now is probably not the best time for a nooner. So unless you want to get killed, I suggest you get your ass out here.”
  • When soldiers capture Juliette, a man grabs her, and “his lips touch my skin and I actually whimper.” The man tells her, “God I’d love to just take a bite out of you.” Juliette pretends she likes the man’s touch so she can get his gun. The man’s “hands are exploring my body, slipping down my back to feel the form of my figure and it’s all I can do to keep from doing something reckless. . . And he kisses me. Hungrily. Desperately. Eager to break me open and taste me. . . I pull him closer, grab a fistful of his jacket and kiss him as hard as I can, my fingers already attempting to release the first of his buttons. Warner grips my hips and allows his hands to conquer my body.” When Juliette has the opportunity, she shoots him. The scene is described over three pages.
  • When Adam is beaten, Juliette tells him to get better because “I’m going to memorize every inch of your body with my lips.”
  • When Adam heals from his injuries, he wants to be alone with Juliette. When everyone leaves, Adam leans “in and I’m leaning in until I’m practically on top of him and he’s slipping me into his arms and kissing me with a new kind of desperation . . . His hands are threaded in my hair, his lips so soft and urgent against mine. . .” Adam “kisses my bottom lip. Bites it for just a second.” The scene is described over a page.

Violence

  • Juliette thinks back to when the Reestablishment was taking over the country. She remembers “the bad memories. . . Protests. Rallies. Screams for survival. I see women and children starving to death, homes destroyed and buried in rubble, the countryside a burnt landscape, its only fruit the rotting flesh of casualties. I see dead dead dead red and burgundy and maroon and the richest shade of your mother’s favorite lipstick all smeared into the earth.”
  • While in her cell room, guards come in and begin shouting. While Juliette stands there doing nothing, a guard “slams the butt of his gun into my back and my knees crack as they hit the floor. I finally taste oxygen and a side of blood. . . A steel-toed boot kicks me in the ribs, fast, hard, hollow.” The guards shove a gun into Juliette’s cellmate’s face. The guards make the two walk to a new destination. During the trip, Juliette thinks, “I don’t know how long I’ve been walking before another blow to my back cripples me.” When Juliette falls down, “there’s another heavy boot pressed into my back and I can’t lift my head to distinguish who’s speaking to me.”
  • A soldier is accused of “fraternizing with civilians believed to be rebel party members. He has stolen food and supplies from storage units. . .” When the soldier doesn’t deny the accusations, a man “takes a short breath. Licks his lips. And shoots him in the forehead.” The man’s “limbs are bent at odd angles on the cold, concrete floor. Blood is pooling around him and still no one moves.”
  • When Adam was younger, his drunk father took him to school. Juliette watched “a father slap his 8-year-old son in the face. I watched Adam fall to the floor and I stood there motionless as he was kicked repeatedly in the ribs.” While hitting him, Adam’s father screamed, “It’s your fault, you worthless piece of shit.”
  • In order to understand Juliette’s power, a man puts a toddler in a room that has spikes that come through the floor. In order to save the boy, Juliette is forced to touch him. When she does, “his screams pierce through me like I’m being shot to death, one bullet for every second. He’s clawing at my arms, my chest, kicking my body as hard as he can, crying out in agony until the pain paralyzes him.” After the test, Juliette gets angry. “I catapult through the concrete walls. I crush the glass with 10 fingers.” The test is described over four pages.
  • In order to escape, Adam slams “the butt of his gun into Warner’s head. Warner’s gun misfires and Adam catches his arm and twists his wrist until his grip on the weapon wavers. I grab the gun from Warner’s limp hand and slam the butt of it into his face. . .” During the fight, “Adam slams his knee into Warner’s spine. Warner falls to the floor with a muffled crack and a sharp intake of breath.” After Warner is tied up, Juliette and Adam are able to escape.
  • A man tells Adam, “No one should have to wake up in the morning and find dead bodies in their living room, but shit happens. We deal with it, and we find a way to survive.” As the man continues to talk, Adam gets angry and presses “a gun to his forehead.”
  • As Adam, Juliette, and others flee from the Reestablishment, “there are children everywhere, bright colors of small bodies suddenly screaming at our approaches. . . Adam pushes me to the ground just as a bullet flies past my head. He shoots down another door toward another exit, and we run through the ruins towards another exit, trapped in the maze of what used to be a clothing store. Gunshots and footsteps are close behind. . . Adam is breathing hard. He grips the gun in his hand. Pops his head out for a split second and fires. Someone falls to the floor, screaming.” Several people are killed and Adam is captured.
  • Juliette follows a trail of blood and finds Adam, who is “hanging from bound wrists, shirtless, bloodied, and bruised everywhere. His head is bent, his neck limp, his left leg drenched in blood despite the tourniquet wrapped around his thigh. . . His wrists are rubbed raw, bleeding, his body pounded into one piece of pain, his leg bloodied through with a bullet.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • In the past, Adam’s father drove drunk.
  • A man gives Adam’s ten-year-old brother a sleeping pill. The man doesn’t want the boy to see Adam being chased by the Reestablishment.
  • When Juliette escapes, someone gives her a sedative to help her get over her shock. Later, Adam is also given a sedative to help him recover.

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Towards the end of the book, the profanity ramps up and appears on almost every page. Profanity includes ass, asshole, bullshit, bastards, crap, damn, goddamn, hell, holy shit, and shit.
  • “Oh God,” “God,” and, “Jesus” are used as exclamations often.
  • After Adam treats Juliette badly, he says, “I’m sorry I’m such an asshole.” He also tells her, “I was a jerk yesterday. I treated you like crap and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
  • Someone calls Adam a “sick bastard.”
  • When a man sees Adam and Juliette kissing, he says, “Son of a motherless goat—“
  • One of Adam’s friends refers to Juliette as a “psycho chick.”
  • A man slept in a shed; he described that it “was weird. Crazy shit growing in the place. I almost ate something I thought was fruit before I realized it smelled like ass.”

Supernatural

  • When Juliet touches someone, she drains the life out of them.9 When a guard touches her, “I can hear his anguish, I can feel the power pouring out of his body, I can hear his heart beating in my ears and my head is spinning with the rush of adrenaline fortifying my being. . . My skin is pulsing with someone else’s life and I don’t hate it.” Juliette breaks the connection before the guard is seriously injured.
  • In the past, Juliette tried to help a little boy, but she “killed a little boy in a grocery store simply by helping him to his feet.”
  • Somehow Juliette was able to punch through a steel door. Her “fist flies through 12 inches of steel like it’s made of butter.”
  • Juliette goes to a compound where she meets a man who can move things with his mind. There is also a man who tells her, “Sometimes I electrocute people by accident” and another who is really flexible. He “loops one arm around his waist. Twice.”
  • At the compound, two women are healers—one heals the physical body and the other heals emotional wounds. Yet another person can “blend into the background of any space. Shift myself to match my surroundings.”

Spiritual Content

  • When in a difficult situation, Juliette “prays to God I’m making the right decision.”

The Ruins of Gorlan

Will doesn’t know who his father is, but he has always believed that his father was a knight who died in battle. Will wants to join Battleschool and be like his father. But when it’s time for the fifteen-year-old to get accepted as an apprentice, Will is disappointed that his request to join Battleschool is denied.

Will’s only choice is to become a Ranger’s apprentice. The Rangers’ shadowy ways have always made Will nervous. Will doesn’t understand that Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom who fight the battles before the battles reach the people. Halt, a gruff Ranger, begins to train Will, but neither realizes that a large battle is brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, Morgarath is prepared to win at all costs.

The Ruins of Gorlan paints a vivid and realistic picture of medieval times. As a Ranger’s apprentice, Will learns how to blend into the background in order to gain information; he also learns how to defend himself. Horace, a Battleschool student, is the target of intense bullying. Even though he is training to become a knight and defend the kingdom, Horace falsely believes that bullying is part of Battleschool’s initiation process. The two apprentices’ friendship gradually changes. As the boys begin to understand each other, their relationship evolves into a strong friendship. The story uses a third-person omniscient point of view to focus on Will’s and Horace’s thought processes, which allows the reader to understand their actions.

 The Ruins of Gorlan has many positive aspects: well-developed characters, a believable setting, and realistic, exciting conflicts. As the apprentices learn new skills, the reader comes to understand the importance of hard work, perseverance, loyalty, and honor. The male friendships that are forged give the reader insight into the importance of respecting others and never gloating. Because of their training, both Will and Horace learn how to develop their individual strengths. In the end, Will sets his childhood dream aside because he realizes that becoming a Ranger will bring him more happiness and satisfaction.

The story’s long descriptive scenes and advanced vocabulary such as quartering, gyrate, tumult, and debilitating, make The Ruins of Gorlan perfect for strong readers. Full of action, adventure, and boy-bonding, the story will keep the reader’s attention until the very end. With fantastical monsters, honorable characters, and an epic battle at the end, The Ruins of Gorland tells an engaging story while teaching that one should never “judge a man by his position in life.”

Sexual Content

  • Someone retells a story about one of the wards letting rabbits loose in someone’s study. The person says it was disruptive because, there was “a male and a female rabbit, my lord, if you take my meaning. . . And as I said, my lord, it was spring.”
  • A boy meanly tells Horace, “Baby’s a Ward brat. Mummy ran off with a riverboat sailor.”
  • While out with his former ward mates, a girl kisses Will. “Her lips on his were incredibly, indescribably soft. Hours later before he finally feel asleep, he could still feel them.”

Violence

  • As part of the world-building, an old battle is described. The armies fought, and “with attack and counterattack and massive loss of life. The Slipsunder was a shallow river, but its treacherous reaches of quicksand and soft mud had formed an impossible barrier. . .” The losing army retreated.
  • When the cook saw Will steal some cakes, the cook hit him “on the head with his wooden spoon. Will grinned and rubbed his head thoughtfully. He could still hear the CRACK! made by the spoon hitting his head.”
  • Three bullies force Horace to do pushups. As one of the boys insults him, “His foot shoved viciously into Horace’s back, siding him sprawling on the floor.”
  • Horace becomes angry and “he turned back to George and gave him a heavy shove in the chest.” Then Will tricks Horace into riding a horse. The horse quickly bucks him off and then the two boys fight. “In an instant, Horace scrambled to his feet, his face dark with rage. He looked around, saw a fallen branch from the apple tree and grabbed it, brandishing it over his head as he rushed at Tug [the horse].” When Horace again tries to hit Tug, “Will was on him. He landed on Horace’s back and his weight and the force of his leap drove them both to the ground. They rolled there grappling with each other, each trying to gain an advantage. . . Blood ran down the bigger boy’s face. Will’s arms were hard and well muscled after his three months’ training with Halt. . .[Horace] drove a fist into Will’s stomach and Will gasped as the air was driven out of him.” An adult finally breaks up the fight.
  • A wild boar attacks “with an infuriated scream, he threw off one of the dogs that still clung to him, paused a moment, then charged at the hunters with blinding speed.” A knight was ready with his spear. “The boar had no chance to turn. His own rush carried him onto the spear head. He plunged upward, screaming in pain and fury, trying to dislodge the killing piece of steal. . . With one last screaming roar, the huge boar toppled sideways and lay dead.”
  • After the boar is dead, another one attacks. Will shoots arrows at it. “The arrows stuck out of the boar’s thick hide like needles in a pin cushion. They did no serious harm, but the pain of them burned through the animal like a hot knife.” The boar goes after Will. “Screaming in fury, the huge animal spun in its tracks, skidding in the snow, and came at him again. . . The boar came at a trot, fury in its red eyes, tusks slashing from side to side, its hot breath steaming in the freezing winter air.” Will’s horse, Tug, goes after the boar. “Tug’s hooves caught the pig n the ribs and, with all the force of the pony’s upper legs behind it, sent the boar rolling sideways in the snow.” Finally, Halt shoots an arrow at the boar. “The boar reared up in midstride, twisting in sudden agony, and fell, dead as a stone, in the snow.” The scene is described over three pages.
  • The three bullies are upset that Horace “made a fool of the entire Battleschool” because Will had to help him during the boar hunt. “Jerome shoved him against the shoulder as he spoke, pushing him back against the rough stone of the wall.” One of the boys puts a “heavy hessian sack over Horace’s head before he could resist, pulling a drawcord tight so that he was contained from the wait up, blinded and helpless.” The bullies continue to hit Horace. “On and on it went as he writhed on the ground, trying in vain to escape the blows. . . they continued until, gradually, mercifully, he fell still, semiconscious. . . He ached and hurt viciously in every part of his body.” The scene is described over two pages.
  • After the bullies beat up Horace, they go to find Will. They tried to put a sock over Will’s head, but Will “dived forward toward Alda, rolling in a somersault that took him under the sack, then letting his legs sweep around, scything Alda’s legs from under him so that the bigger boy went sprawling. . . Jerome brought his cane around in a ringing crack across the back of his shoulders. With a cry of pain and shock, Will staggered forward, as Bryn now brought his cane around and hit him across the side. . . Instantly, the three Battleschool apprentices crowded forward, ringing him, trapping him between them, the heavy canes raised to continue the beating.” Horace appears to help Will.
  • Halt sees the boys fighting and stops the fight. However, one of the bullies, Alda, is defiant and disrespectful to Halt. Alda “felt a searing pain as Halt stamped backward with the edge of his boot, catching the apprentice’s foot between the arch and ankle and driving into it. As Alda doubled over to clasp his injured foot, the Ranger pivoted on his left heel and his right elbow slammed upward into Alda’s nose, jerking him upright again and sending him sprawling back, eyes streaming with the pain. . . Halt’s larger knife, razor edged and needle pointed, was just under his chin, pressing lightly into the soft flesh of this throat. . . The knife pricked a little harder against his throat and he felt a warm trickle of blood sliding down under his collar.”
  • After Halt takes care of Alda, he makes the other two bullies face Horace, individually. “Then, as he [Horace] blocked Bryn’s fourth stroke, he flicked his wooden blade down the length of the other boy’s cane in the instant before the two weapons disengaged. There was no crosspiece to protect Bryn’s hand from the movement and the hardwood drill sword slammed painfully into his finger. With a cry of agony, he dropped the heavy stick, leaping back and wringing his injured hand painful under his arm.” When Bryn tries to stop fighting, Hale says “If he’s going to be a baby, I suppose you’ll just have to paddle him.” Horace likes the idea and, “then he proceeded to whack the older boy’s backside with the flat of the drill sword, over and over again, following him around the clearing as Bryn tried to pull away from the remorseless punishment.”
  • Next, Horace faces Jerome. “Jerome was driven back by a whirlwind of forehands, backhands, side and overhead cuts. He managed to block some of the stokes, but the blistering speed of Horace’s attack defeated him. Blows rained on his shins, elbows, and shoulders almost at will.” When Jerome drops to the ground, and covers his head, “his backside was raised invitingly in the air. . .” Will kicks him in the butt.
  • Halt then throws the cane to the injured bully, Alda. During the fight, Alda drops his weapon and “stood defenseless before Horace.” Horace then hits Alda in the jaw. “Will’s eyes widened slightly as Alda came off his feet and hurtled backward, to come crashing down in the cold snow beside his two friends.” The bullies are exiled from the fief. The bullying and fighting scenes are described over 10 pages.
  • A group of men which includes Will, travel to find Halt and the Kalkara. When they see the creature, it has a “cluster of arrows that protruded from its chest. There must have been eight of them, all placed within a hand’s breadth from each other.” The injured Kalkara went after the men. “The sharp iron penetrated, smashing through the matted hair. The force of the charge drove the Kalkara from its feet and hurled it backward, into the flames of the fire behind it. . . Then there was a blinding flash, and a pillar of red flame that reached ten meters into the night sky. And quite simply, the Kalkara disappeared.”
  • Halt was injured and his “leg, numb where the Kalkara had clawed him, was beginning to throb painfully and he could feel the blood seeping past the rough bandage he had thrown around it. . . He was wounded and unarmed. His bow was gone, smashed in that first terrifying charge when he had fired arrow after arrow into the first of the two monsters.”
  • Halt comes out of his hiding place to warn the men about the Kalkara. Halt “brought his knife hand up, back and forward in one smooth, instinctive memory throw, seeing the target moving in his mind’s eye, mentally aligning the throw and the spin of the knife. . . It took the Kalkara in its right eye and the beast screamed in pain and fury as it stopped to clutch at the sudden lance of agony that began in its eye and seared all the way to the pain sensors of its brain.” As Halt ran towards the men, “screaming a blood curling challenge, it leapt after him. . . The massive arm swung, catching Halt a glancing blow and sending him rolling forward, unconscious.” The baron steps between the beast and Halt, but the monster “slammed its talons into Arald’s exposed back before he could recover from the stroke. . . Arald grunted in pain and surprise as the force of the blow drove him to his knees. . . blood streaming from half a dozen deep slashes in his back.”
  • Will dips an arrow in a flammable substance, sets it on fire, then shoots the Kalkara. “The monster beat at the flames on its chest with its paws but that served only to spread the fires to its arms. There was a sudden rush of red flame and in seconds the Kalkara was engulfed, burring from head to toe, rushing blindly in circles in a vain attempt to escape. . . Then the screaming stopped and the creature was dead.” The fight with the Kalkara is described over 10 pages.
  • Halt describes the battle that Will’s father fought in. Will’s father “killed one [creature] with the spear, then another smashed the head of the spear, leaving Daniel with only a spear shaft. So he used it like a quarterstaff and knocked down the others—left, right! Just like that!”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • While cooking, “a generous dash of red wine” was added to the vegetables.
  • While talking to Sir Rodney, “Karel reached across and poured himself another tankard from the jug of beer that was on the table between them. . . He finished the last of his beer in two quick drafts. . .”

Language

  • Three boys continuously bully Horace and call him “baby.”
  • Damn is used eight times. Halt says that Will is “a damn good shot already.” However, most of the time damn is used to describe the Kalkara as the “damn thing.”
  • When a boy compliments Jenny, she tells him, “You are a complete idiot.”
  • When Will shows up at the castle with an urgent message, the men-at-arms, stop him from entering. When Sir Rodney sees this, he yells, “What the hell do you think you’re doing, you idiot! Don’t you recognize a King’s Ranger when you see one?”
  • When he hears a Kalkara’s “hellish” scream, the baron exclaims, “Good God, what is that?”
  • When the Kalkara bursts into flame, someone asks, “What the devil was that?”

Supernatural

  • A group of Kalkara are on the hunt. Halt describes them. “Think about a creature somewhere between an ape and a bear, that walks upright, and you’ll have an idea of what a Kalkara looks like.” The creature has red eyes and “if you look into its eyes, you are frozen helpless—the way a snake freezes a bird with its gaze before it kills it.”

Spiritual Content

  • When trade masters were choosing new apprentices, Will prayed “that one of them would relent and accept him.”

 

Lair of the Beast

Wily Snare spent most of his life below ground creating clever tricks to ensnare treasure-seekers. Once he escaped from the dungeon, he was able to befriend a group of adventurers. Stalag, the mage who once kept Wily locked away, wants revenge. He plans to build an army of stone soldiers and take over Wily’s kingdom.

Even though Wily has sworn to keep his kingdom safe, he isn’t prepared for the pressures that come with being a prince. In order to stop Stalag, Wily will need the help of all of his friends. They must travel to find an oracle, find passage into the Below, and fight frightening beasts. The only way that Wily and his friends will succeed is if they work together to quell a creature that is as big as a castle and more dangerous than the deadliest dungeon.

Wily Snare is an imperfect protagonist that genuinely cares about the people of his kingdom. Even though Wily knows how to be a great trapsmith, he has no idea how to be a good king. Wily is afraid of failure, but others remind him that “You don’t need to be perfect. You can’t get everything right. In fact, most things you will get wrong. And that’s okay. That’s part of life.” Despite his fears, Willy uses his brains to get out of difficult situations. Readers will be able to cheer for Wily as he fights beasts, guides his companions, and fights for his kingdom.

Snared: Lair of the Beast is the second book in a fantasy adventure series. Reading the first book in the series, Snared: Escape to the Above, is essential because most of the characters appear in the first book and the second installment does not explain important events that took place in book 1. Wily and his misfit treasure-seeking friends are interesting and are willing to face danger to help others. Even though Wily and his friends face many different types of magical creatures, the battle scenes are not scary. Readers will enjoy seeing how the oracle’s prophecy comes true, as well as how Wily uses his mind to defeat evil.

Advanced elementary and junior high readers will enjoy the quirky characters and the interesting monsters that Wily encounters. The story continually reinforces the idea that everyone makes mistakes. In the end, Wily doesn’t need to prove that he is perfect, he just needs to do the best that he can. Snared: Lair of the Beast is an entertaining fantasy that teaches a positive message about friendship, forgiveness, and perseverance.

Sexual Content

  • Someone sings the following song: “My sister kissed a troll down by the river. She thought that a kiss would break a cursed spell. But the troll was just a troll down by the river. Still, she married him and now they’re doing well.”

Violence

  • Wily and his companions enter an underground chamber. They meet a monster who shows them a map. “As he put his tiny eyes up to the etched map, Odette smashed him in the face with the back of the shield. The boarcus collapsed to the floor.”
  • When Wiley is stealing treasure, he “looked up to see faceless humanoids emerging from the slime around the small island on which he was standing. The bodies and outstretched arms dripped with viscous green ooze. One of the strange creatures lunged at Wily.” Wily and his companions run from the humanoids, because “legend says they can melt metal with a single touch.” As they run, they meet a quill grizzler, who “shot a series of sharp needles at the fleeing adventurers. . . the quill grizzler grabs Wily, who “felt the quill grizzler’s claws snap closed around him. The fanged bear lifted him off his feet and began to squeeze. The pressure was intense . . .” Wily and his companions are able to escape uninjured. The chase scene is described over seven pages.
  • Two golem’s try to capture Wily and his companions. When Moshul, a moss golem, charges, “the bearded stone golem swung his arm. The back of his hand struck Moshul in the chest. Wily watched as the moss golem was knocked to the ground as easily as a straw man. . . The bearded golem reached out and grabbed Moshul by the shoulder. He lifted him into the air and threw him—off the side of the mountain.” Moshul is not injured.
  • After Moshul is thrown off a mountain, “Pryvyd and Odette, both rage-filled, charged them. The quartz-fingered golem punched Pryvyd’s shield so hard that every metal spike that had been sticking out from it was snapped clean off. Pryvyd tumbled backward, his brass armor clattering and clanging.” Wily and his companions flee.
  • Slither trolls invade a town. “The slither troll was about to swing the rake at the terrified woman when Righteous flew across and blocked the blow with a sword.” In order to defeat the trolls, Wily creates a slingshot and his companions throw tomatoes. “The soft projectiles soared through the air and struck the trolls on their legs and bellies. The trolls both let out pained yelps. ‘Oh that burns!’ one screamed. ‘Ouch. Ouch. Ouchie.’” The trolls run away. The scene takes place over four pages.
  • A monsoonondom is a “giant furry beast with long tusks that spark like lightning bolts. Their footsteps churn the wind into a fury. A shake of their fur causes torrential downpours.” Wily and his companions flee from a monsoonondom, but before they get away “the powerful gusts blowing off the beast knocked her [Wily’s mother] off her feet and into a tree.” A group of animals and people made a barricade, but the monsoonondom “hit the moss golem straight in the back. Moshul was knocked off his feet and Roveeka went flying off his shoulders. But Moshul caught her in his mud hands before she struck the ground.” Wily’s mother is injured. The scene takes place over six pages.
  • Wily tries to quell a manticorn, which is a two-headed beast with six clawed legs. “it had the body and tail of a giant panther. . . One head resembled an eagle with a giant horn sticking out from between its eyes. The other looked as if it had been taken from a goat, except that it had dagger-sharp fangs where its teeth should be.” Wiley jumps on the manticorn’s back, and “the manticorn shook its back with such force that Wily went flying into a bolder on the edge of the Web’s jagged cliff. All the air went out of him, and when he was finally able to breathe again and looked up, the manticorn was practically on top of him.” Someone helps Wily, who is uninjured.
  • A group of people throws arrows at Moshul, the moss golem. “Pryvyd blocked one with his shield while Righteous plucked another from the air. Moshul was struck with four in his chest and a fifth in his arm. The moss golem stumbled backward. . .” When the group finds out that Moshul was not a stone golem, they stop shooting arrows.
  • While in an underground chamber, Wily and his companions see a mold-ogre. Wily “walked straight up to the mold-ogre and kicked one of its big hairy toes.” Wily discovers that the mold-ogre is not real.
  • When an elf tries to keep Wily and his friend Valor prisoners, “Valor seized the opportunity to give the haggard elf a kick to the stomach, sending her tumbling backward.” The two are able to escape.
  • While in the underground tunnels, Wily and his friend are attacked by “ants the size of wolves. . . They snapped their pincers as their antennae waved wildly in the air.” When Wily tries to escape, “the first group of ants skittered toward Wily, attempting to bite his legs and waist. Balor came to his defense, slicking the air with her wooden hand claws. Her right-hand blade slicked off the antennae of three of the ambush ants. With her other hand, she punched the head of a snapping ant.” When Valor smacks another ant, the “ants bit down on Valor’s ankle, breaking the skin. Wily grabbed a hammer from his tool belt and smashed the ant attacking Valor on the side of the head. The ant crumpled as another took its place.” Wily’s others companions find them and help defeat the ants. The ant battle is described over four pages.
  • In a battle against good and evil, two golems attack. Before they could hit anyone, “the lair beast swung its spiked tail in a wide arc. The ball at the end hit the quartz-gingered golem in the chest, sending chips of stone flying as he was knocked off his feet.” During the battle, a giant Infernal Golem appears. The lair beast “flapped toward the sun before diving, heading straight for the Infernal Golem. . . The Infernal Golem grabbed the lair beast by the tail, plucking it out of the air. Then, with what seemed like no little effort at all, he tossed the mighty lair beast back into the sky. . .” The golems are defeated when they sink in the mud, but no one else is injured. The battle is described over ten pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Someone calls a person an idiot.
  • Darn is used once.

Supernatural

  • A knight has an enchanted floating arm that helps him in battle.
  • People can create golems out of stone or earth and bring them alive by magic.
  • The group passes the Archway of Many Eyes; the archway has eyes that send an alert when it sees someone.
  • Someone cast a spell to make oglodyte minions look like children.
  • A levitating skull tells jokes.
  • Wily and his companions go to see the Oracle of Oak, who uses acorns to predict the future. When Wily asks her questions, she “swept her hand around a bowl of acorns, stirring them as if cooling a bowl of soup. She stared at the patterns that were forming.” The oracle makes predictions based on the patterns.
  • When inside a mountain, Wily sees a cavern mage who “lifted her frail hands and pointed at the mouth of the tunnel. Suddenly, a pair of giant spectral hands formed. They grabbed the rock walls and pulled them wider as easily as if the walls were made out of clay, adding several feet on either side.”
  • Someone cast a spell that makes a cave cricket grow until it was so big a man could ride it.

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Art Show Attacks!

The students at Eerie Elementary are preparing for their school’s art show. Sam decides to make a dinosaur from clay, but before he can finish his project, Sam and his friends start seeing Orson Eerie everywhere. That creepy mad scientist is determined to spread his power outside of the school, and he is determined to get Sam and his friends out of the way. Orson uses the students’ art to try to stop Sam, and also brings Sam’s clay T. rex to life! Can Sam and his friends stop Orson’s evil plan?

The Art Show Attacks follows the same fun format as the previous books, as Orson uses his supernatural power to throw art-filled obstacles in Sam’s way. Though this story is the ninth installment of the Eerie Elementary series, the story can be enjoyed even if the previous books have not been read. In The Art Show Attacks, Sam and his friends work together to defeat Orson Eerie. Even though the ending is predictable, readers will enjoy the action-packed story. However, the conclusion is unsatisfying and may leave readers questioning Sam’s actions.

Even though the school comes alive and tries to stop the kids from ruining Orson’s plan, the story isn’t scary. While it is said that the school feeds on kids, no kids have actually been eaten. The abnormal occurrences in the book are exciting and contain onomatopoeias that enhance the storytelling. The story contains simple sentence structures, an easy-to-follow plot, and discussion questions at the end that will add to the learning value of the book.

The Art Show Attacks is an entertaining story that continues Sam’s struggle to defeat Orson Eerie. As each book in the Eerie Elementary series follows the same basic format, readers progressing through the series may become less entertained with the predictable sequences. Younger readers who enjoy the Eerie Elementary series should also add The Notebook of Doom series to their reading list. The Yeti Files by Kevin Sherry is another humor-filled series that fans of Eerie Elementary should try.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • While in art class, Sam’s clay “reached out and grabbed him! It yanked Sam’s face SMACK down into the clay. Sam couldn’t escape! His clay project had grabbed hold of his face! Sam whacked at the clay until—POP! He burst from the blob, gasping for air.”
  • A painting of Orson Eerie comes alive and tries to capture Lucy. “The hand yanked Lucy’s backpack off her shoulder and hurled it onto the floor. . .” The hands then try to grab Sam, but he “leapt back as the hand swatted at him. Lucky ducked as the other hand swiped at her. . . The fist pounded the floor. . . Antonio swung a long brush through the air like a ninja with a sword but—WHACK! One fist smacked the brush away!” The kids fall through the ceiling, but are not hurt. The scene takes place over seven pages.
  • Sam’s clay dinosaur comes to life. “The T. rex was as big as the real thing! Its giant jaws chomped as the dinosaur stomped toward the hall monitors. . . The T. rex’s tail snapped in the air. Its tiny clay eyes looked right at Sam . . . The monster roared.” The dinosaur begins throwing coins at the kids. “The three friends ducked as the T. rex’s tail slapped against the floor. SMACK! Its tail whipped the change toward them. Nickels and quarters pounded the walls . . . Quarters smacked into Antonio’s shoulder.” In order to stop the dinosaur, the kids use hair dryers to dry the clay. The scene takes place over 13 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Orson Eerie founded Eerie Elementary 100 years ago. The school is alive. “It was a living, breathing thing that fed on students. And Sam, the hall monitor, was the school protector. . . He could feel when something was wrong. . . Orson Eerie found a way to live forever—he became the school. He was Eerie Elementary. And Eerie Elementary was a monster. . .”
  • Sam’s hall monitor sash drags him down the hall and into a secret room. “The sash pulled so hard, it jerked Sam off his feet. . . Sam soared past the computer lab, and then the sash flung him down the hall.”
  • A school wall begins to weaken. “The three friends stepped back as the bricks began to move and slide on their own. . . Suddenly, the sash yanked Sam forward. . .” The three friends find a picture of Orson Eerie.
  • The students’ art comes to life and tries to steal a jar of money from Sam. Sam, Lucy, and Antonio “could not believe what they were seeing. The stick figure slowly peeled itself off the paper. It landed on the floor and began trotting toward them. . . A painting of a tree flung the jar up a flight of stairs. It was caught by a doodle of an elderly woman.” The scene takes place over five pages.
  • The paint from students’ artwork begins to flow and a river of paint rushes towards Sam, Lucy, and Antonio. “. . .The friends were swept up in a flood of thick, wet, multicolored paint. . . The instant Sam had the jar in his hands, the rushing river of paint began to dry up. Globs of paint leapt up onto the wall and back into their paintings. Blank canvases were full of color again!”
  • Gray ooze begins coming out of the cracks in the school, and the people have to leave the auditorium.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

The Fugitive

In The Fugitive, Theo Boone’s class trip to Washington DC goes from normal to interesting in a matter of minutes after he spots the most wanted man in Stratten County: Pete Duffy. Duffy had gone to court in the past for murdering his wife but had escaped due to a mistrial. Theo spots him on their trip and trails the fugitive before talking to his uncle and getting the FBI involved.

The rest of the story takes place in Strattenburg, the same city where Duffy was originally tried. Theo works with his friends, his two lawyer parents, and the FBI to figure out a way to make sure Pete doesn’t get away this time. The only person who saw Duffy is an illegal immigrant, who is scared of what might happen if he shows up in court. Theo has to convince the witness of the need for justice in spite of his fear because nobody else witnessed the crime, and the trial is resting on his testimony. Also, Theo himself also has to get over his fears of Pete Duffy’s accomplices who are known to be violent and brutal, just like the criminal in question. And he has to do all of this while managing his time with school, his friends, and his family.

The Fugitive is aimed at a younger audience but still contains a few adult themes, especially violence and even murder. Grisham doesn’t go into extreme detail when describing these events, but his choice to include a violent crime paints a more believable story. Theo’s story is an exciting thriller but also manages to include the less-exciting parts of crime that take place in the courtroom, such as having to repeat a trial multiple times due to legal errors like a late witness. After tracking down a notorious fugitive, it’s ironic that the only thing keeping him from imprisonment is a mistrial. Boone and the other characters acknowledge this, and much of the story consists of them creating a strong enough case to put Duffy behind bars.

An important lesson that the book conveys is an appreciation for laws and justice. As much as Theo or anyone else would like to just imprison Duffy because they know what he did, doing so without enough evidence would be a violation of due process. In addition, Theo and his parents do a number of good deeds for society, including volunteering at a homeless shelter, opening up free law practices, and just practicing law.

Theodore Boone provides a funny and relatable character for younger audiences. Besides helping capture one of the FBI’s most wanted, Theo is pretty much an ordinary kid. His character design in addition to the enticing thriller that John Grisham has written results in a captivating crime novel that isn’t filled with violence and gore. Theodore Boone: The Fugitive is an excellent read for any aspiring detective.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A character recounts how John Wilkes Booth “shot the president once in the back of the head.”
  • Pete Duffy was “accused of murdering his wife.”
  • Theo’s uncle Ike tells the story of Joel Furniss, “the first boy from Stratten County to be killed in Vietnam.”
  • Bobby Escobar “saw Pete Duffy sneak into his home at the exact time his wife was killed. And he found the golf gloves Duffy was wearing when he strangled his wife.”
  • Mr. Tweel, a farmer, explains how “About an hour after I get rid of the boys, after I get their names and address, I go back down to the goat pen to check on things. That’s when I saw that Becky was dead.”
  • As evidence, “a large photo was displayed on the screen, and the jurors got another look at Myra Duffy as she was found on the carpet. She was wearing a pretty dress; her high heels were still on her feet. . . the next one was a close-up of her neck, and the detective noticed a redness and slight puffiness on both sides of her neck. He immediately suspected strangulation.”
  • As Theo is marched down the hall by two officers, he compares it to “a man being led to the electric chair, or the gas chamber, or the firing squad.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Ike “was sipping on beer and listening to old Motown tunes” when Theo talked to him.
  • Bobby Escobar “likes to drink beer and brings it home.”

Language

  • “Two bozos—Jimbo Nance and Duck DeFoe dropped water balloons from a fifth-floor hotel room.”
  • “Woody and a couple of other clowns booed and hissed as Theo sprinted from the room.”
  • Judge Gantry says to Theo, “Nice work, Theo. Now get your butt back to school.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • The bailiff asks, “May God bless this Court,” before proceeding with Pete Duffy’s trial.

by Dylan Chilcoat

 

Simon Thorn and the Shark’s Cave

Simon Thorn is just learning the rules of the Animalgam, a secret race of people who can shift into animals. After years of being bullied, he has finally found a group of friends. They attend the secret Animalgam academy, which is hidden beneath New York’s Central Park Zoo. Simon and his friends are looking for the pieces of a terrible weapon—the predator. They are determined to destroy the weapon before Simon’s grandfather, Orion, can use it to take over the Animalgam kingdom.

When Simon’s dolphin friend Jam is summoned home to the underwater kingdom, Simon decides it is the perfect time for him to search for a missing piece of the predator. Simon soon discovers that finding the piece will be harder than he thinks. There is a traitor among the underwater kingdom and Jam’s family has strict rules that cannot be broken. Can Simon and his friends find the piece before Orion?

The third book in the Simon Thorn series takes the reader on a fast-paced ride through the underwater world where sharks rule. Even though Simon is still looking for a piece of the predator, Simon Thorn and the Shark’s Cave doesn’t simply repeat the events of previous books. Instead, the story focuses on Jam’s strict, military family and the dangers that lurk underwater. Even though the story has many of the same characters, Jam’s family is introduced, and with that come new complications.

Simon Thorn’s world is unique, dangerous, and utterly captivating. The characters are distinct, well-developed, and interesting. Simon is surrounded by a host of Animalgam with questionable intentions as well as two villains who are willing to kill him to gain power. The story highlights the dangers of one person having too much power. Simon thinks that even if someone wants peace, tyranny is not the way to gain it because “there will always be good people who rise up against tyrants and murderers regardless of what it cost them.”

The story highlights the importance of learning from mistakes as well as forgiveness. While in the underwater world, Simon gets a glimpse of the negative aspects of sexism, especially how it affects Jam’s sisters. Simon’s friend Felix points out that Simon is unique because, “You meet someone and you see who they are, not what they are. You got any idea how rare that is, kid?”

The Simon Thorn series must be read in order because the plot builds on previous books. However, readers who have read the first two books in the series will not be disappointed in this installment. New characters, new adventures, and new dangers arise in Simon Thorn and the Shark’s Cave. The fast-paced action and plot twists will keep readers engaged until the very end. The Simon Thorn series gives readers a relatable hero who will do whatever it takes to keep his family and friends safe.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A group of falcons chases after Nolan and Simon, who were flying in bird form. A falcon catches Simon’s wing and “Burning pain tore through his shoulder, and Simon cried out as his body spun wildly, careening toward a nearby window. . .” Simon “pushed his wing directly into the falcon’s path, throwing his opponent off balance as it tried to avoid a direct collision. Simon caught the falcon by the tail feathers and, using the golden eagle’s strength to his advantage, he spun the falcon toward the nearest roof as hard as he could.” When a falcon goes after Nolan, Simon “Caught up to it, and he grabbed it by the wings and pulled up with all his strength, throwing the smaller bird into the empty sky and away from the struggling golden eagle.”
  • Winter and another girl, Nixie, get into a fight. “Nixie let out a shriek that echoed throughout the cavern, and she shoved Winter backward. Simon caught her before she could fall. . . Winter screeched and charged straight for Nixie, tackling her.” The girls fall into shallow water.
  • Sharks attack a group of dolphin Animalgams. Simon watched as “a tiger shark nearly took a chunk out of Jam’s tail, and only then did he pull himself out of his stupor and rush toward the action, letting out a fierce cry. . .” Simon barreled “though a group of sharks like a bowling ball crashing through pins. . . He chomped down on a bull shark first, and while he’d only grabbed a fin, the shark squealed and swam out of the fight.” A great white goes after Jam, and the General enters the fight. “The great white’s teeth sank into the General’s dolphin body instead, and the General let out a scream that chilled Simon to the bode.” A jellyfish squirts ink into the water, and the fight ends. The fight lasts three pages.
  • An underwater soldier arrests Simon and “in one swift motion, she caught Simon’s wrists and bound them together with a zip tie. . .” Jam helps Simon escape. “One second she was slipping the zip tie over Jam’s wrists, and the next, he lurched forward, shoving her into the wall. . . when Jam backed away, her hands were bound together, not his. . .” Simon and Nolan escape.
  • When Simon tries to leave the underwater compound, the sharks Al and Floyd decide Simon will make a good snack and try to eat him. “Al rammed into him, knocking his smaller dolphin body off course. Simon’s side exploded in pain, and he spun around wildly until he wasn’t sure which way was up . . .” Floyd caught “Simon by the tail and flinging him back toward Al. His sharp teeth dug into Simon’s dolphin skin, but it was a scratch at best. . . Al’s tail made contact with his head. Dizzy and disoriented, Simon floated in water without moving, his thoughts scrambled and pain pouring through him in every direction.” Simon begins sinking to the seafloor unconscious, and then someone rescues him. The shark fight scene takes place over two pages.
  • While scuba diving in the ocean, a shark Animalgam sees Simon and hits him. “Simon flew backwards. His mouthpiece fell out, and he tried to reach for it, only to be yanked back by his oxygen tank a second time.” A second great white shark appears and helps Simon when “It chomped down on the first shark’s tail, and she let out a bloodcurdling shriek. . . the second shark sinking its teeth into her twice more, and during those precious seconds while she wasn’t paying attention, Simone used the last of his energy to propel himself toward the mouthpiece.” The attacking shark is chased away.
  • Orion killed an Animalgam, but the death is not described. Simon sees Orion with “his hands clasped around the delicate neck of a dead peregrine falcon.”
  • Simon snuck into Orion’s camp to talk to his mother. While he was there, “suddenly two large human hands grabbed him, pinning his wings to his side. Instinctively Simon struggled against the grip, squawking and snapping his beak at the strong fingers around his feathered body, but there was no give.” Orion threatens to kill Simon’s mother, who is chained up so she can’t escape. At one point, Orion lifts “the knife threateningly, the tip pointed toward Simon’s mother.” Ariana in spider form bites Orion, and they are able to escape. Before they leave, Ariana gives Orion an antidote so he doesn’t die. The scene takes place over five pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Simon tells his brother, “You’re an idiot.”
  • Simon calls shouts at some falcons, “Hey, birdbrains!” Later a student called Simon “birdbrain.”
  • Winter calls the general of the underwater kingdom a jerk. Later Simon tells one of Jam’s sisters that “You should think about not being such a jerk to him all of the time.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • The story revolves around Animalgams, “human[s] who could not only talk to animals, but developed the ability to turn into one, too.” This ability is passed down by family. “Nearly all Animalgams could only shift into a single animal, and they belonged to one of the five Animalgam kingdoms: mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, or underwater creatures.” Nolan and Simon are special; they can shift into any animal.

Anger is a Gift

Moss Jeffries is anything but an average teenager. Ever since his father was shot by the Oakland police outside their home, Moss has dealt with intense anger issues and constant panic attacks. In addition, Moss has a difficult time going outside because of the kinks of the homosexual community, his popularity amongst protesting groups, and his constant fear of the local police. After meeting Javier on a metro train and falling in love, it seems everything is finally coming together for Moss. He is happy; his friend Esperanza is going to a great school; his mother just received a promotion–life is good.

However, when school starts things begin to change. Due to a lack of school funds and the influence of the local police, Moss and his friends encounter more troubles as they are harassed and berated by the school’s administration. However, after a school cop brutalizes one of Moss’s friends, police-patrolled metal detectors cripple another, and his organized school-wide walkout turns chaotic and deadly, Moss personally takes the fight to the police, gathering a city-wide protest that will change the city, and leave readers with a new sense of community and self-determination.

With its diverse characters, Mark Oshiro paints a brutal yet beautiful picture of problems today’s teens face. The well-developed characters each have their own individual type of problems. Esperanza is adopted and struggles to keep in tune with her own culture. Reg was crippled by a car accident when he was younger. Moss struggles with his anxiety. But Oshiro makes them appear to be real people with their own type of language, jokes, and emotions. Readers will fall in love with these realistic characters and root for them.

Moss has a huge group of friends, and the large cast of supporting characters may confuse some readers. The diverse group of characters gives a wide range of people a voice—the story focuses on minorities and also includes the following: gay characters, non-binary characters, bisexual characters, asexual characters, Muslim characters, undocumented characters, and disabled characters. The one thing that brings these groups together is the social injustice they face.

Anger is a Gift has a rapid and suspenseful plot with a perfect mix of teen society and real-world problems. However, Oshiro pushes the extremes of some of the moral problems today’s young adults face. Told from Moss’s point of view, it allows the reader to get a glimpse of what a person feels when they are faced with PTSD and panic attacks. Moss’s descriptions of his grief and anger, in addition to the brutal descriptions of the senseless acts of violence, can, at times, be hard to read.

Besides detailing the oppression minorities face, Anger is a Gift has a hint of romance. Issues of sexuality, race, ethnicity and class affect each of the characters, while senseless anger and violence threaten them all, killing some and injuring others. This book is not for the faint of heart and is intended for older readers. Nonetheless, Anger is a Gift is a book for those wishing for a new perspective on how police brutality, oppression, and racism affects poor people of color from the author’s perspective. The character development mixed with the book’s brutal, bloody action scenes will leave readers with a different perspective of racism in America.

Sexual Content

  • Ever since they started to date, Javier and Moss make a game out of kissing each other when they see each other. When they see each other, they will peck each other on the cheek. For instance, “Moss kissed him back for just a little bit longer, pushing back against the awkwardness that tried to conquer him. He had never kissed anyone in front of his friends, but he focused on how it made him feel. Warm. Secure. Admired.”
  • Before Moss’s first date with Javier, his mom asks, “You have any condoms?”
  • On their first date at Javier’s apartment, Moss and Javier get intimate. “But Javier pulled Moss to him again, only this time they faced each other, and Javier brought them back down on the couch. He wrapped his leg around Moss’s and squeezed his hand. Moss felt moisture and thought his palms had started sweating again, but it was Javier’s sweat this time. Moss went still, and he could feel Javier’s heart beating against his chest. It was racing even faster than Moss’s was. The two enjoyed the warmth of each other’s bodies. . .” They do not have intercourse.
  • On a brunch date, Moss asks Javier, “Maybe you just wanted me for sex. We’re gay men. That’s not exactly an unbelievable suggestion.”
  • While escaping the chaos after the school walkout, Moss suggests that they escape out the back of the school through the hallway down by the science labs “where the football players always take their girlfriends to make out.”
  • After Javier’s death, Moss remembers him, thinking about how much he loved Javier, “The way you kissed my jaw. The way sweat ran down your chest. The feel of the muscles in your arm, the scent of your breath, the blackness of your hair, the curled smile.”

Violence

  • Wanda tells Moss that she stopped protesting after she saw a cop that had previously threatened her “standing over your father’s body.”
  • After finding drugs in Shawna’s locker, “Hull’s arm shot out, hard, and his forearm hit the spot just below Shawna’s throat, and the man pinned Shawna against a locker, her back hitting the metal so hard that it buckled. Moss dropped his lock on the ground, heard it clatter against the tile, and Shawna tried to yelp.” Shawna is epileptic and falls to the ground, shaking, as students gather around them. This scene takes place over four pages.
  • After the metal detectors are installed in the school, Reg refuses to go through due to the six metallic pins in his knee. One of the officers shoves him through, and “Reg didn’t make it through. His right knee jerked to the side and the metal detector seemed to respond to Reg. Thrum! His body hit the frame hard, hard enough that it made a hollow ringing like a steel drum, and Moss saw that Reg’s breath had been knocked out of him. As his hands went to his chest, Njemile and Kaisha shouted, scrambling to reach their friend as he doubled over, his arms shooting out to the ground to catch himself.” Reg goes to the hospital and has to go through surgery and physical therapy. This scene takes place over eight pages.
  • After their school-wide student walk-out turns chaotic, Moss and his friends seek shelter in a nearby room to plan their escape. A cop finds them and uses the infamous Mosquito weapon – a weaponized sonic sound used to disperse crowds of teenagers. After being blasted by the sound, “Chandra threw up. It was violent, loud, and her wrenching caused Sam to do the same, and it was in their hair, all over the floor.” Moss and some of his friends remain uninjured while Chandra and Sam go unconscious. This scene lasts over two pages.
  • During the same walkout, Javier is shot by Officer James Daley. “The beet-faced cop had a gun trained on Javier. And then he fired. it wasn’t the first time Moss had heard the pop of a gunshot. Nor was it the first time he’d heard the sickening sound of the air leaving someone’s body. The sound that meant the worst. Javier curled into himself; his brown hands jerked up to his chest, and blood squirted out between his fingers. Moss screamed, again and again, and pitched himself forward as Javier crumpled to the ground, the life too quickly draining out of him.” Javier dies, Mr. Jacobs and Moss are beaten, and many of the students are sent to the hospital. This scene takes place over three pages.
  • Moss’s city-wide protest turns chaotic after the militarized Oakland PD uses a Silent Guardian, an infamous heat ray, against the protestors. The narrator describes the Silent Guardian in action saying, “The antenna on the top of the box would move sluggishly, and as soon as it seemed to be pointing at someone, that person would drop to the ground. Hands scraped at skin. People clawed at their faces, into the side of a car, trying to escape the sensation that Martin had described to him, and she lay still on the ground.” Many protestors are sent to the hospital, Haley dies, and Moss’s mother almost dies. Moss and his friends’ wounds are described later. “He watched Kaisha and Reg sit as still as they could, saw the sweat on Reg’s bloody face, felt his own pulse pounding in his head.” This scene takes place over fourteen pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • During Shawna’s locker check, Officer Hull finds drugs in her locker. Moss describes the encounter saying, “Hull held a Ziplock bag up in the air, and Moss’s heart dropped. White pills. Lots of them.” They are Shawna’s epilepsy medication.

Language

  • Typically, characters use profanity in the heat of the moment. Profanity is used infrequently but includes phrases like “dickwad,” “piss,” “jerk,” “ass,” every variation of “shit,” derogatory terms, and “assholes.”
  • When Reg is trying to go through the metal detectors for the first time, someone shouts “Hurry up, dickwad!”
  • Before shooting Javier, James Daley snarls, “You little shits never learn.”
  • After Javier’s death, Moss gets angry and yells at Esperanza, “I hate your mother, and if her nosy, white savior ass hadn’t called Mr. Elliot, Javier might be alive today.”
  • During the Oakland Police Department’s press conference at the end, somewhere near the back of the crowd, someone yells out “Bullshit!”
  • Afnan describes Mr. Jacobs when he says, “That man was a smug asshole…I bet no one has ever told him otherwise”.
  • During Moss’s protest, Martin hands him an empty bottle and says, “You’re gonna have to take a mean piss eventually.”
  • After slipping on a canister, James Daley falls and Reg shouts out, “Did you see that jerk hit the ground?”
  • During the discussion amongst friends after Javier’s death, Kaisha suggests, “Do you think the cops aren’t capable of just making shit up?”
  • Moss reflects on his father’s death when he says, “Months of those Piedmont assholes teasing me at school, telling me he deserved it because he was a thug and the streets were cleaner without him.”
  • Racist terms are used throughout the book, and the characters’ skin colors come up a lot. One time during a discussion about what to do about the metal detectors, a man in the audience steps up and says, “You call a spade a spade.” Another time, when thinking about Javier, Moss thought to himself, “Oh god, he thought, that makes me sound so white.”
  • “Oh my god” and “Oh god” are used as exclamations.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Matthew Perkey

 Rogue Wave

Four thousand years ago an ancient evil destroyed Atlantis. This evil is stirring again, and it will take six mermaids—Serafina, Neela, Ling, Ava, Becca, and Astrid—to defeat it. The mermaids are descendants of the Six Who Ruled—powerful mages who once governed Atlantis. In order to defeat this evil, the mermaids must find the magical talismans that belonged to the six.

Serafina mourns the loss of her betrothed—the traitor who is working for the man who destroyed her realm. But Serafina doesn’t have time to mourn; she must research the location of the talisman and discover its hidden location before anyone else can. While following leads, she must avoid death riders, who have been ordered to capture her.

Neela travels to her home realm, Matali, to warn her parents of the impending danger. However, her parents don’t believe her outlandish story and confine her to her chamber so she can rest and recover. Neela needs to escape so she can find a talisman, which is in the possession of the fierce razor mouth dragons. As they hunt for the talismans, both Serafina and Neela need to rely on courage, cunning, and their allies. Can they endure danger, defeat death, and discover the secret locations of the talismans?

Rogue Wave, the second book in the Waterfire Saga, is full of action, intrigue, and a hint of romance. Even though the first book, Deep Blue, focuses on bringing the six mermaids together, none of the mermaids work together in the second book. Instead, Rogue Wave jumps back and forth between Serafina and Neela, as they both look for a talisman. Often one mermaid’s experience would end with a cliffhanger, and then jump to the other mermaid’s story.

Despite the interesting mermaid world, many of the events were extremely unrealistic. One minute Serafina is a strong, brave girl ready to face down evil, and the next minute, she makes rash decisions that make no sense. Instead of connecting with Serafina, some readers may find the whinny, impulsive mermaid hard to relate to. On the other hand, many readers will relate to Neela, who tries to cope with difficulties with eating sweets. Neela’s parents are more concerned with Neela’s appearance than anything else. Neela has been taught that as royalty, she must always look pretty wearing jewels. Readers will root for Neela as she tries to break out of her parents’ mold.

Rogue Wave continues the intrigue that began in book one. As Serafina travels looking for the talisman, she meets an interesting Spanish princess and is reunited with her betrothed. Serafina hopes to defeat evil and help her realm; however, she is unwilling to accept the obvious and naively ignores clues that prove some people plotted against her mother. Younger readers may enjoy the mermaid world and the intrigue, but more advanced readers will have a difficult time believing Serafina can become a strong leader. The conclusion of Rogue Wave reveals an important plot twist, and readers will want to read the third book in the series, Dark Tide, to discover how the other mermaids fit into the complicated plan of saving the mermaid realm.

Sexual Content

  • As part of a disguise, Serafina uses a spell to give her an enormous bosom. Serafina complained, “It looks like I have two sea mounts stuck on the front of me. . . All I can see is my chest.” Her friend says the goal is to make the soldiers focus on her bosom, “not the face.”
  • Mahdi and Serafina kiss. “And then she was in his arms and his lips were on hers, silently telling her who he was. Hers. Always. And for a moment there was no safe house, no danger, no grief. All she knew was the heat of his kiss and the feel of his heart beating under her hand.”
  • The ghost of a Spanish princess tells Serafina about a pirate trying to capture her. The ghost says, “I vowed I would not be taken. I was a princess of Spain, meant to be wife to a French prince, not a wench to warm a pirate’s bed.”
  • Mahdi tells Serafina that he has kissed another girl but that it meant nothing.
  • Serafina and Mahdi get married, and Mahdi “cupped Sera’s face in his hands and kissed her, and Sera kissed him back, forgetting there were others nearby.”
  • After Sera and Mahdi are married, as part of his secrete identity, he becomes betrothed to another.

Violence

  • Serafina goes to Atlantis, where the Opafango live. Someone warns her, “The Opafango eat their victims alive. . . while their hearts are still beating and their blood’s still pumping.”
  • Serafina ties a man up.
  • When a soldier comes into a room, Serafina threw a dagger at him. His arm was “immobilized because her dagger had pinned his sleeve to the door.” The soldier is uninjured.
  • A villain tortures people to get information. “Four days ago, he cut a finger off a child—a child, Sera—to make her mother tell him where her father was hiding. I saw him do it.”
  • Someone tells Serafina about the raids that have been taking place. “Some of the villagers must’ve tried to fight. There were bloodstains on the wall and floors of the houses. They scribbled notes and left them behind. Please tell my wife . . . Please help us . . . They’ve got my children. . .”
  • Death riders attack a safe house. Serafina uses a spell and “the explosion was instantaneous. The concussive force was so great, it shook the ground. . . she heard the impact of debris as it was flung against the iron and the bubbling and hissing of lava.” Someone tells her, “No one could survive a blast like that.” The scene takes place over two chapters. Most of the scene is running from the death riders.
  • Someone captures Serafina in a net, but lets her go when they discover she is one of them.
  • Someone tells Serafina about a man’s experiences with soldiers. “Traho’s soldiers beat him so badly, he lost consciousness. They left him for dead.” Someone found the man and took him to safety, but the soldiers “were rounding everyone up. . . My dad tried to fight them off, but they beat him up.”
  • The ghost of a Spanish princess explains how she died. A pirate “locked me in my cabin. He boarded his ship and gave orders to bombard my vessel. . . I can still hear the cannon shot. I can smell the gunpowder. I faced death bravely, as a princess of Spain must. . . Drowning is not an easy death.”
  • Neela and several others try to take a moonstone from a dragon’s nest. A baby dragon clawed her. “A swipe of pain across her back, sudden and blinding, made her scream. She dropped the moonstone. . . Blood rose from the jagged tears in Neela’s skin, curling through the water.” When Neela and the others try to leave the dragon’s lair, a baby dragon screeches and the father comes after them. The dragon knocks a girl down and “was advancing on her now, lashing his tail, baring his horrible teeth.” The group flees, and when the dragons follow, the mermaids lead dragons to a bloom of jellyfish. The scene takes place over 7 pages.
  • A woman “nodded at two of her guards and they sized the grand vizier. She drew a crimson-tipped finger across her throat and they dragged him away.”
  • During the introduction of the new regime, goblins patrol the crowds. A merman was “cheering halfheartedly. A goblin noticed, and punched him.”A human captures a mermaid and wants information. “His right hand was bloodied. Across from him was a mermaid bound to a chair with a rope. Blood dripped off her chin. Her head lolled on her chest. . . The mermaid lifted her head and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her lip was split. One of her eyes was swollen shut.” The man tells her, “I’d like to kill you, I’d like that very much. . . Unfortunately, I can’t. You’re valuable to me and you know it.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Serafina uses a potion to put a group of men to sleep.
  • Mahdi tells Seraphina about his partying and playing a beer game.

Language

  • Someone calls Serafina an “idiot girl.”
  • Serafina calls a man a “lumpsucker.”
  • Several times, someone is referred to as “sea scum.”
  • “My gods” is used as an exclamation several times.
  • Hell is used twice. Someone tells Serafina death riders are coming and to “Get the hell out of here.”
  • A death rider calls his companion a “dumbwrasse.”

Supernatural

  • Some mermaids have magic. “Magic depended on so many things—the depth of one’s gift, experience, dedication, the position of the moon, the rhythm of the tides, the proximity of whales. It didn’t settle until one was fully grown.”
  • Serafina and several other mermaids cast a bloodbind spell, which required them to mix their blood. The mermaids now share each other’s powers. For example, Serafina can now understand other ocean creatures’ languages.
  • Some ghosts live in mirrors. An unknown evil man tries to use the mirror to get to Serafina. He watches Serafina through a mirror, but “Long, jagged cracks, running through the glass like a network of veins, held him back now. The spaces between the cracks were too small to fit his body through but large enough for his hand. Slowly, silently, they pushed through the mirror, hovering only inches from the mermaid. It would be so easy to wrap them around her slender neck and end what the Iele had started. But, no, the man thought, drawing back.”
  • The ghosts, vitrine, that live in mirrors “stayed within the bounds of their own mirrors; others wandered through the realm. Some spoke to the living, others refused to. There was, however, one all were bound by: when a vitrina’s own mirror was broken, the soul was released from the glass.”
  • While in the mirror realm, Serafina meets Rorrim, who feeds off of dankling. Rorrim explains, “It’s a little piece of fear. They burrow into backbones. A few of them will infest a nice strong spine, and then as the bones weaken, more come. . . There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, as tasty as fear. Doubt is delectable, of course. Insecurities, anxieties—all delicious, but fear? Oh, fear is exquisite!”
  • Serafina uses a bloodsong, and “even after four thousand years, the blood came to life under Sera’s hand. It brightened as if newly spilled, then spun up from the floor in a violent crimson vortex. The mermaids heard a voice. And then another. And more. Until there were dozens of them. Screaming. Sobbing. Pleading. Shrieking.”
  • In order to create an escape route, Serafina uses a vortex spell to make pikes burst.
  • Several times throughout the story mermaids use transparensea pearls. “The songspell of invisibility used shadow and light and was notoriously difficult to cast. Spellbinders—highly skilled artisans—knew how to insert the spell into pearls that a mermaid could carry with her and deploy in an instant.”
  • Serafina meets the ghost of a Spanish princess. Serafina agrees to take the princess back to Spain. The princess took Serafina’s hand “and Serafina arched her back, gasping. It was as if the ghost had reached inside her and wrapped a cold hand around her heart.” When the princess got to an island off of Spain, “Her body glittered now, became a million points of silver light, and then crumbled into a fine, shimmering dust. As Serafina watched, the warm Spanish winds swept her away, until all that remained was the echo of her laughter.” However, Serafina was exhausted because “the ghost had taken too much from her.” Serafina’s friends find her and help her recover.
  • Orfeo appears even though he has been dead for four thousand years.

Spiritual Content

  • Morsa, the scavenger goddess of the dead, can change forms and practices necromancy, “the forbidden art of conjuring the dead.”
  • When someone dies, a priest places a white pearl under the person’s tongue to catch the soul as it left the body. Horok—the ancient coelacanth, the Keeper of the Soul—would take the pearl and carry it to the underworld.
  • When Orfeo’s wife died, he built a temple for Morsa and summoned the goddess. Morsa gave Orfeo power, and he sacrificed people for Morsa. At first, he sacrificed “those without families in Atlantis, those who wouldn’t be missed. Then he came for us. He came at night. . . Orfeo gave her death, and in return, she gave him her forbidden knowledge. It made him so powerful that he created Abbadon and declared he would use the monster to march on the underworld” and take his wife back.
  • When Neela finds a sweet, she says, “Oh, thank gods!”

The Queen’s Secret

Horses have been banned in the country for centuries, and most people believe that horses were carriers of disease. Anthea and her family know the truth—horses are majestic creatures who can share their thoughts with people through the Way. The queen wants to reintroduce horses into the kingdom, but the king has demanded that horses and riders with the Way follow his every command.

When a deadly plague breaks out, people believe that horses are the cause. People’s fear of horses rises as more fall ill and the death toll increases. Anthea and her friends are asked to transport a lifesaving vaccine, but the people fear the medicine that can save their lives. To complicate matters, Anthea learns the queen’s secret—but will revealing the queen’s secret help or hurt their cause?

The second installment of The Rose Legacy series continues to focus on Anthea, who is an extremely likable and strong protagonist. The story introduces a group of all-female scientists that are struggling to understand the disease that is rapidly infecting people. Although the scientists discover a vaccine, the discovery comes because of a chance encounter instead of through their hard work and research. In the end, the story shows women in a variety of roles—the queen, mothers, young girls, and a villain.

Much of the plot revolves around the spread of the disease and people’s fear of both horses and vaccines. Although the plot takes an unexpected direction, the story is fast-paced, interesting, and enjoyable. The story highlights the dangers of allowing fear and misconceptions to overtake reason. Readers will appreciate seeing girls take action and face danger in order to help, even when others doubt their ability. Readers will be eager to read the next book in the series to find out why the villain has kidnapped horses and why the villain seems eager to start a war.

The Queen’s Secret is full of conspiracy theories and intrigue, but what makes the story even more enjoyable is the relationship between horses and their riders, as well as the friendships that Anthea makes. Jessica Day George creates a unique world that builds suspense without graphic violence, romance, or using cliché characters. Anyone who wants to read an engaging horse-related adventure should pick up the Rose Legacy series.

Sexual Content

  • Finn grabs Anthea’s “gloved hands. . . Now both of their faces were red, but it was not from the cold. . . Greatly daring, Anthea leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek, then pulled her hand away.”
  • After not hearing from Finn, Anthea finds him and, “she wasn’t even embarrassed to hug him tightly and kiss his cheek. Then she pushed herself away just as he tried to hug her.”
  • Jilly gives an account of her relatives. One relative’s “second wife ran away with a blacksmith.”

Violence

  • The queen tells others about an incident with the Kronenhofers. When two Kronenhofer ships entered the river, the Knonenhofer’s refused to answer guards who “hailed the ship to ask their intent. But the guards didn’t get an answer. Instead, the ship went into battle mode. . . The garrison disabled the Kronenhofer ship. One of them sank, and the other burned almost to the waterline, and there were only a handful of survivors.”
  • An injured man shows up at the farm, and “Anthea nearly fainted at the sight of the flesh underneath: bruised, bloodied, and with a large round hole that seeped more blood with every one of the major’s breaths. The blood looked dark and thick. . .” The man survives.
  • Men shoot at Anthea and two other girls, but they are able to escape unharmed.
  • A strange vehicle enters a village and attacks. “The man was destroyed. The front was simply gone. A gaping hole had been blasted in the beautiful stone façade, and there were flames pouring out of it. . .” During the attack, a princess and some horses were kidnapped.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Sometimes smugglers bring in alcohol. “There are Coronami who enjoy Leanan ale. . . And many Leanans prefer the Coronami wines to their own ale.”
  • Anthea says, “Liquor really is the root of all evil, as Miss Miniver said.”
  • An injured man is given an injection. “Morphine probably.”
  • Anthea is given a glass, “and she tossed back the water like it was whisky and slammed the glass down for emphasis.”

Language

  • Anthea calls a horse a “big idiot.”

Supernatural

  • People who have “the Way” can communicate with horses and feel the horse’s emotions.
  • A village is surrounded by stones that guard the place and helps it stay hidden. People and horses are not able to use the Way to communicate with others outside the village.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Ender’s Game

Earth has been attacked twice by the Buggers—aliens attempting to colonize Earth’s solar system. The whole world waits with bated breath for the Third Invasion and sends its best and brightest children to Battle School when they are six years old to be trained in strategy and warfare. Eventually, these children will become the pilots, commanders, and soldiers that will save the human race from extinction.

Ender is a governmentally approved Third child in a world with a strict two-child rule. He was allowed to be born in the hopes that he will be a genius like his two older siblings, but with the correct temperament for Battle School. The experiment succeeds, but Ender doesn’t want to go to Battle School. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He especially doesn’t want to leave behind his beloved sister Valentine, though he will not miss his psychopathic brother Peter. But Colonel Graff tells Ender that the world needs him, and Ender believes him.

What follows is Ender’s journey through Battle School, where his brilliance generates both respect and hatred from the other children. As the children study how to fight, Ender finds himself at the center of an immense web of manipulations, all designed to turn him into the Commander that Earth needs to defend itself. It doesn’t matter that Ender doesn’t want to kill anyone; it’s what he is good at and will become great at with the right push. And push him, they do.

Ender’s Game is a masterpiece, which is why it is required reading at many high schools. There is heavy content that is inappropriate for younger and sensitive readers: profanity and name-calling are used often, there are bouts of violence (including attempted murder), and there is a thematic question of whether cruel, immoral means are justified by an end that benefits humanity.

These masterfully woven questions will keep readers up at night, and readers will relate to Ender and his struggle to define himself. Is he a monster like his brother Peter? Is he a killer like the teachers want him to be? It is Ender’s emotional turmoil of self-loathing, loneliness, and despair that will haunt readers long after they read the last page—more than the aliens, the fights, and even the theological questions. Ender’s Game will leave readers desperately wishing that Ender’s life had not been so hard. Readers will forget that Ender is just an ink-and-paper boy from a story, and not the son, brother, or friend that they have fondly come to know him as.

Sexual Content

  • When Valentine says she has an oral exam at school, her brother says it could be worse. “It could be an anal exam.”
  • Dink says, “Hey, look! Salamander’s getting babies now! Look at this! He could walk between my legs without touching my balls!”
  • When Valentine is offered a weekly column in a newspaper, she says, “I can’t do a weekly column…I don’t even have a monthly period yet.” Later in the same argument, Peter asks her, “Are you sure you’re not having a period, little woman?”
  • When Peter is also asked to write a column, he says, “Not bad for two kids who’ve only got about eight pubic hairs between them.”
  • After a bully makes fun of another boy’s butt, “Look how he shimmies his butt when he walks,” the other boys start calling the bully, “Buttwatcher.”
  • One of the commanders “had programmed his desk to display and animate a bigger-than-lifesize picture of male genitals, which waggled back and forth as Rose held the desk on his naked lap.”
  • Ender jokingly calls his friend, “you circumcised dog.”
  • When the Buggers procreate, “each male in turn penetrated the larval queen, shuddered in ecstasy, and died, dropping to the tunnel floor and shriveling.”

Violence

  • Ender is attacked, and he beats the main bully thoroughly, to make sure no one is ever bold enough to attack him again. “Ender walked to Stilson’s supine body and kicked him again, viciously, in the ribs. Stilson groaned and rolled away from him. Ender walked around him and kicked him again, in the crotch.”
  • Ender’s older brother threatens to kill him. Peter “knelt on Ender, his knee pressing into Ender’s belly just below the breastbone. He put more and more of his weight on Ender. It became hard to breathe. ‘I could kill you like this,’ Peter whispered. ‘Just press and press until you’re dead. And I could say that I didn’t know it would hurt you, that we were just playing, and they’d believe me, and everything would be fine. And you’d be dead.’”
  • A boy hits Ender repeatedly when they are on a space shuttle. “Just as the next blow was coming, Ender reached up with both hands, snatched the boy by the wrist, and then pulled down on the arm, hard…The boy sailed through the air, bouncing against the ceiling, then down against another boy in his seat, then out into the aisle, his arms flailing until he screamed as his body slammed into the bulkhead at the front of the compartment, his left arm twisted under him.”
  • Two teachers mention a prior student’s suicide in passing. “Everybody looks like Pinual at one time or another. But he’s the only one who killed himself.”
  • Ender plays a computer game that sometimes has gruesome deaths. One time, “the Giant cut him open along the spine, deboned him like a fish, and began to eat while his arms and legs quivered.” Another time, “He jumped at the Giant’s face, clambered up his lip and nose, and began to dig in the Giant’s eye. The stuff came away like cottage cheese, and as the Giant screamed, Ender’s figure burrowed into the eye.”
  • A commander slaps one of his soldiers. “Madrid stepped closer to the girl and slapped her across the face with the back of his hand. It made little sound, for only his fingernails had hit her. But there were bright red marks, four of them, on her cheek, and little pricks of blood marked where the tips of his fingernails had struck.”
  • Ender’s commander hits him after Ender disobeys orders. “Suddenly Bonzo swung at him, caught his jaw with a vicious open-handed slap. It knocked Ender sideways, into his bunk, and he almost fell. Then Bonzo slugged him, hard, in the stomach. Ender dropped to his knees.”
  • Ender and his friends are attacked by an older group of guys in the Battle Room. “Someone caught Ender by the foot. The tight grip gave Ender some leverage; he was able to stamp firmly on the other boy’s ear and shoulder, making him cry out and let go. . . the boy had hung on too well; his ear was torn and scattering blood in the air, and Ender was drifting even more slowly. I’m doing it again, thought Ender. I’m hurting people again, just to save myself. Why don’t they leave me alone, so I don’t have to hurt them?”
  • Ender gets picked on several times during Battle School. “So Ender got knocked down in the shower that morning. One of Bernard’s boys pretended to trip over him and managed to plant a knee in his belly.”
  • Valentine, “had seen a squirrel half-skinned, spiked by its little hands and feet with twigs pushed into the dirt. She pictured Peter trapping it, staking it, then carefully parting and peeling back the skin without breaking into the abdomen, watching the muscles twist and ripple.”
  • Bonzo tries to kill Ender. “Bonzo’s tight, hard ribs came against Ender’s face, and his hands slapped against his back, trying to grip him…instead of kicking, he lunged upward off the floor, with a powerful lunge of the soldier bounding from the wall, and jammed his head into Bonzo’s face. Ender whirled in time to see Bonzo stagger backward, his nose bleeding.” The fight takes place over two pages.
  • “Late one night [Ender] woke up in pain…He saw that in his sleep he had been gnawing on his own fist. The blood was still flowing smoothly.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Bastard” is used often. Peter tells his brother, “No, no, I don’t want your help. I can do it on my own, you little bastard.” Another time Colonel Graff says, “We promise gingerbread, but we eat the little bastards alive.”
  • “Hell,” “asshole,” and “ass” are used several times. Valentine says her older brother is “The biggest asshole.” Graff tells a teacher, “your ass is covered, go to hell.”
  • “Damn” is used a few times. Graff tells Ender, “I told them you were the best. Now you damn well better be.” Another time a student says, “I be the best soldier I can, and any commander worth a damn, he take me.”
  • Another student tells Ender to “kiss butts if you’ve got to.”
  • Variants of “piss” are used several times. One boy in the Game Room tells Ender, “Beating you…would be as easy as pissing in the shower.”
  • At Battle School, the boys’ slang includes frequent name calling. For example, Graff says, “Scumbrains, that’s what we’ve got in this launch. Pinheaded little morons.” Other variants include pisshead, fartface, etc.
  • “Son of a bitch” is used once. “I’m a pilot, you son of a bitch, and you got no right to lock me up on a rock!”
  • “There was a myth that Jewish generals didn’t lose wars.” The commander of Rat Army is Jewish, so it, “was often called the Kike Force, half in praise, half in parody of Mazer Rackham’s Strike Force.”

Supernatural

  • An alien race, called “Buggers,” invaded Earth’s solar system twice before. All of Earth is preparing for the Third Invasion.

Spiritual Content

  • When talking about how humans won the last war, Graff says, “Call it fate, call it God, call it damnfool luck, we had Mazer Rackham.”
  • Graff says if Ender is not the one, “then in my opinion God is a bugger. You can quote me on that.”
  • After a battle, Ender saw that some people “knelt or lay prostrate, and Ender knew they were caught up in prayer.”
  • An admiral says piloting is “a god. And a religion. Even those of us who command by ansible know the majesty of flight among the stars.”
  • Speaker for the Dead is a book that became “a religion among many religions” on Earth. “But for those who traveled the great cave of space and lived their lives in the hive queen’s tunnels and harvested the hive queen’s fields, it was the only religion.”

by Morgan Lynn

 

 

Simon Thorn and the Wolf’s Den

Twelve-year-old Simon Thorn’s best friend is a mouse. The kids at school think Simon’s a freak because he talks to animals. Simon doesn’t think life can get worse, until a herd of rats kidnaps his mom. After his mom’s disappearance, Simon learns that he and his family are Animalgams—people who can change into an animal at will.

The children of the Animalgams attend a secret academy hidden within New York’s Central Park Zoo. Simon sneaks into the academy hoping to find clues to his mother’s whereabouts. While at the academy, Simon learns that the Animalgam world is full of ancient rivalries and feuding kingdoms. Commanding the school is a dangerous foe intent on holding supreme power, and she thinks Simon is the key to gaining it. In an instant, Simon’s world has shifted, and he isn’t sure who he can trust. Simon is determined to find his mother, but he may lose his life in the process.

Simon Thorn and the Wolf’s Den jumps into action right from the start. The plot twists and turns as Simon uncovers family secrets, new friends, and evil villains willing to kill for power. Although the plot is complicated, the author circles back to repeat important information, which helps the reader keep track of key details.

Simon is a relatable character because he wants to fit in, but he refuses to bow to bullies. Even when Simon is under intense pressure, he continues to do what is right, including protecting those around him. Because the story is written in the first person, Simon’s thoughts and feelings allow the reader to understand why Simon puts his life in his enemy’s hands.

The villains in the story are capable of hiding their true intentions, but in the end, their actions show the dangers of desiring power. The story also highlights the themes of friendship, forgiveness, and the pain of loss. Simon’s uncle, Darryl, shows what a good parent figure should act like—he gives encouragement, sets rules, and is willing to die for Simon. At the end of the story, readers will understand that even when people have good intentions, the outcome doesn’t always work out as expected.

The story’s advanced sentence structure and often scary violence make the story more appropriate for older elementary readers. Simon Thorn and the Wolf’s Den is a fast-paced story that takes readers into a fantasy world where unlikely Animalgams band together to defeat evil. This entertaining story will surprise and delight readers, while it teaches that “you are the person you choose to be, not the person others think you are.” Readers will be clamoring to read the next book in the series, Simon Thorn and the Viper’s Pit.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Bryan is bullying Simon, Winter stands up to the bully. The bully “shoved her backward. Winter hit the chair hard, and the crack of elbow against metal echoed through the cafeteria. Simon didn’t stop to think. By the time he realized what he was doing, he had already tackled Bryan to the ground and socked him in the soft spot below the ribs. Bryan cried out, and Simon pulled away, dumbfounded.” During the fight, “Bryan shoved his arm against Simon’s throat. His fist connected with Simon’s abdomen, and Simon curled into a ball.” When Bryan goes after Winter, “Simon roared. His hand shot out, his fingers curled into claws, and he swiped his nails against Bryan’s face. Bright red lines sprouted across Bryan’s cheek, and he faltered, his mouth opened in shock.” The bullying and fighting scene lasts for five pages.
  • While walking through the park, Bryan and his friends see Simon. Bryan shoves Simon, and then “one of the eighth graders caught him and pushed him forward. Back and forth he went, until he was so jarred that he could barely keep his balance. . . Simon made what was possibly the stupidest move in his life: he kneed Bryan in the stomach. Hard. And as Bryan doubled over, Simon pushed him to the ground, grabbed his backpack, and made a run for it.”
  • While at home, rats attack Simon, Darryl, and Isabel. “Rats—hundreds and hundreds—crowded the hallways and poured into the apartment, surrounding the three of them. Their high-pitched squeaks made Simon’s ears ring and he could see their sharp front teeth. . . A particularly eager one tried to climb up Simon’s leg, its tiny nails scratching his skin, and he kicked hard.” Simon’s mother tries to steal a car, but the rats disable the car. The rats begin throwing bricks at the car. “Another hit the window, and another, and another. . . The window shattered. Shards exploded all over him, clinging to his sweatshirt.” As Simon runs, the rats “descended on him with impossible speed, climbing up his clothes, flinging themselves at him, biting him everywhere they could reach. . . One of them crawled up the knife, and though the blade cut its belly, the rat either didn’t notice or didn’t care.” The rats take Isabel. Simon and Darryl get separated. Simon is safe. The rat scene takes place over ten pages.
  • Winter helps Simon escape a guarded building. Winter “kicked an unexpecting guard. Hard. His cry of pain echoed through the lobby. . .” When Simon and Winter get outside, the rats attack. As Simon tries to run, he feels “the rats’ sharp claws scratching his legs as they tried to climb up his jeans again.” A flock of predatory birds appears, and “before Simon could move, talons ripped the rats off his clothing and more vicious screams echoed in his ears as the birds and rats clashed.” The rats scatter.
  • During an Animalgam training exercise, “the mountain lion snapped at the girl, who wore a stony expression and didn’t take her eyes off her opponent. . . At last the cat attacked. Again the girl was ready for him, and she sprang aside a second time. With impossible speed and strength, she flipped the beast over in midair and pinned him to the ground, her knee against his throat. The mountain lion fought back, his massive paws striking her again and again until—The girl disappeared.” The girl wins the match by turning into a spider.
  • During an Animalgam training exercise, Simon tries to sidestep his opponent, “but she grabbed his sweatshirt and twisted him around, and Simon fell hard on his back. All the air left his lungs, and he gasped. . . He buried his knee in her stomach and pressed his arm across her neck, the same way Bryan had pinned him. . . he held her down as she struggled.” When the opponent changes into a spider, Simon is able to capture her in the palm of his hand. When he threatens to squish her, she gives up.
  • When Nolan denies that he is Simon’s brother, Simon dumps chocolate milk on him. Then, Nolan “lurched forward and tackled Simon to the floor, ripping at his shirt and tearing at his hair.” Simon doesn’t fight back, and their uncle breaks up the fight.
  • Brothers, Malcolm and Darryl, fight. “An inhuman snarl cut through the air, and in a flurry of teeth and fur, Malcolm shifted and leaped at Darryl, knocking him to the grass. Darryl roared. In an instant, he also shifted into his wolf form, and Simon jumped back as they collapsed in a heap of limbs and claws. The wolves snarled and ripped at each other’s fur, pawed each other’s snouts, and rolled over and over again as they each fought to gain control.” Even though the brothers fight, they make sure they do not hurt each other. Their mother breaks up the fight.
  • Winter turns into a snake and attacks a man who is trying to keep Simon from leaving. When the man grabs Simon, Winter “shot toward him, sinking her fangs into Perrin’s ankle. Winter must have been venomous, because instantly his grip loosened enough for Simon to shove him away. . . His eyes rolled back into his head, and his knees buckled as he collapsed to the ground.” The man is given anti-venom serum.
  • An Animalgam turns into a black widow and bites the villain. The venom does not kill her.
  • While in wolf form, Darryl is caged and birds attack him. The attack is not described, but Simon finds Darryl. “The hulking wolf lay inside, his sides heaving and his gray fur matted with blood. Scratch marks lined his belly, and the feathers that clung to him made it obvious what had happened. . . As soon as Darryl was free, he shifted back into a human and staggered against the wall.”
  • When Simon and his friends get to his grandfather’s place, they find the security guard “stooped behind the desk. Simone moved closer. A security guard was slumped in his chair, and dark liquid dripped from his neck.”
  • In an epic battle that lasts for two chapters, the villains fight for control over Simon. During the battle, an eagle “flew after Simon, catching up in seconds. His talons scratched Simon’s neck and shoulders, and he shoved the bird away, using all his might to tear a handful of feathers from Orion’s wing. The eagle screamed and disappeared into the trees.” Hundreds of birds attack Darryl, who is trying to help Simon. Darryl is in wolf form, and he “snapped at the birds, fighting to break free, but there were too many of them. They pecked and scratched at his face, his throat, his paws, every part of him they could reach. . . Orion lunged toward the wolf, sinking the razor-sharp points of the Heart of the Predator into Darryl’s chest . . . Darryl had shifted back into a human, and a pool of blood expanded beside his motionless body.” Darryl dies.
  • During the epic battle, Simon turns into an eagle and “lashed out with his talons, slicing across Orion’s face and grazing his one good eye. . . Orion cried out, and at last he let go. Clawing at the air, he stumbled backward off the roof and fell into an empty sky.” Orion is injured but comes back to grab the scepter.
  • Malcolm is able to pin one of Simon’s enemies to the floor. He tells her, “You will leave the city and all our lands, and you will never return. If I ever see you again, I will rip you limb from limb, as slowly and excruciating as possible. By the time I’m finished, you will be begging me to let you die.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Several times someone calls somebody else a “jerk.” For example, when Simon is being bullied, a girl tells the bullies, “Would you jerks shut up and go back to whatever hole you crawled out of?”
  • A bully, Bryan, calls Simon a “freak” and a “psycho.” He also calls Simon a “fart face.”
  • Simon calls Bryan an “ape face.”
  • A girl calls Nolan a “royal halfwit.”
  • Several times someone calls another person an “idiot.”

Supernatural

  • Simon can talk to animals. “Not only could he understand what they were saying, but they could understand everything he said in return.”
  • The story revolves around Animalgams, humans that can change into an animal. This ability is passed down by family. For example, when Darryl changes, his “fingers shifted into claws, his hands into paws, and his nose into a snout. Gray fur spouted all over his body, engulfing his clothing, and as his torso thinned and lengthened, a tail appeared at the base of his spine. In the time it took Simon to blink, his very human uncle had changed into a real, live, snarling wolf.”
  • Animalgams can only turn into one animal, except for the Beast King. The Beast King ruled hundreds of years ago, and “he killed countless Animalgams who refused to bow down to him.” The Beast King was powerful because “he could shift into any animal he wanted. . . You try defeating an enemy who can suddenly grow venomous fangs or dive underwater or fly away. Not to mention he had thousands of followers willing to fight for him.” Nolan and Simon are the Beast King’s heirs, and many believe one of them will eventually be able to shift into any animal.
  • The villain is trying to find all of the pieces of a scepter, because “when all the pieces are in place, the Predator can absorb the power of everyone it kills and transfer it to the person who holds the scepter.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Daughters of Steel

Halan was a powerless princess. Now, she’s the queen of the Magi Kingdom, a blazing desert land where magic rules. Without any power, Halan wonders if she can be the queen her people need.

Nalah was a poor girl, from a kingdom that feared magic. Now she’s the Queen’s Sword, standing beside Halan at the helm of the kingdom. The more Nalah’s uncontrolled powers grow, the more dangerous they become. Will Nalah’s fear of her magic’s power cause her to hurt the people she cares about?

Nalah goes on a quest to discover how to control her powers. While she is gone, a friend from her world travels through the Transcendent Mirror asking for help. Halan decides to go through the mirror and help the Thaumas of New Hadar. As a dark threat draws closer, can Nalah and Halan reunite to save both worlds?

The second installment of the Sisters of Glass series continues the saga of Nalah and Halan; both girls need to learn valuable truths that will help them become leaders. Halan wants to be a good queen—one that will “stand up for people, do the hard things when it needs to be done, even if it means putting her own life on the line.” When Halan travels to New Hadar, she highlights the importance of caring for others, no matter their station in life. At one point, she tells her friend Marcus (a market boy), that “Your life and your brother’s and the lives of every single soul being held by the Hokmet are just as valuable as mine. If I were to put my safety above that of others, then I would be a very poor leader indeed.”

Nalah takes her own journey, where she must face several challenges. Throughout her journey, she learns that everything must have balance and that she has to prove her own worth to herself. Even though Nalah learns important lessons during her travels, even younger readers may have a hard time believing some of the unrealistic events. For example, even though no one has ever returned from a journey into the desert, Nalan is able to cross the desert in two days, albeit she gets injured. Nalah is also able to perform advanced magic, with no new instruction; she even successfully performs a healing magic spell that her mother could not control.

Through the sisters’ experiences, readers will explore the qualities of a good leader, as well as think about the nature of good and evil. At one point, Halan thinks about those who care for their own safety and questions, “Or was witnessing evil and doing nothing about it just as bad as doing it yourself?”

 Daughters of Steel has a complicated plot, graphic violence, and a ritual that requires collecting people’s blood. The story jumps back and forth between Nalah’s point of view and Halan’s point of view, which makes the story confusing at times. Although Sisters of Steel gives readers thought-provoking questions to consider, readers who are only interested in reading about sisters in a magical world may want to read The Unicorn Quest, which has less violence.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When a beam falls on a man, Nalah uses magic to try to help him. Nalah felt “for the splinters in the wood’s core, she concentrated on them and willed them to open like a wound. The beam split apart under her hands. . . The man trapped underneath let out a pained gasp as the beam was dragged off his lower torso. Blood was flowing freely from the legs of his trousers, where a jagged spur of bone was poking through his skin.”
  • Nalah accidently sets the building on fire. Workers begin throwing water on the fire, but it doesn’t help. “The workers backed up as fast as they could as the whole structure started to topple. It crashed to the ground in a shower of sparks, and there was a scream as part of it flew off and caught a young woman square in the chest. She dropped and rolled, and people ran to help her.
  • When Marcus jumps through the Transcendent Mirror, a soldier follows him. The soldier “lunged, swinging his heavy stick, and Halan had to push Marcus aside as she dived out of the way. Marcus toppled to the ground, quickly scooting away until his back rammed up against a bookshelf. . .” Halan throws a bottle of sleepsand at the soldier, and “he recoiled, staggering, and then crashing to the floor. Halan felt some satisfaction seeing that he landed face down in his own spittle.”
  • When Soren and Nalah begin a journey, a group of people surround them. Someone grabs Soren, and he “was on his knees, his arms twisted behind his back by one of the men, a knife held to his throat by another.” Nalah wonders, “Could she take on twelve armed adults—some possibly wielding Thauma weapons?” Nalah doesn’t fight, but gives herself up. A man makes her put on gloves that will not allow Thauma magic to “transmute skin.”
  • A group of people captures Soren and Nalah, and as the two are being transported a man hits Soren. “The man punched him hard in the stomach and he doubled over, gasping for breath as he was pulled through another door, which slammed with a clang.” Nalah is taken to another room somewhere. “Nalah had not given up, but she was helpless to stop them from dragging her over to a wide wooden table in the center of the workshop. They thrust her against it hard enough that it pushed all the air from her lungs. . . one of the women had leaned over and seized her wrist, pulling it across a table to rest palm up across a shallow metal bowl. The woman snapped a shackle over her arm and another over her other wrist, so that she was pinned down, the edge of the table digging into her stomach.” The capture of Soren and Nalah takes place over ten pages.
  • In order to escape an enforcer, “Marcus lobbed an old kettle across the room, striking the Enforcer on the shoulder. The man tripped over a box and landed on his back on the floor, cursing with words she’d [Halan had] never heard before. . .” Halan and Marcus go through a trap door. Then “the Enforcer burst out from the trapdoor, and by the time he saw the pole coming toward him it was too late. Powered by panic, the blow hit home, and the man dropped like a stone and sprawled there, unconscious.”
  • Trying to get Marcus and Halan to come out of a house, Enforcers throw a smoke bomb into the house. “the smoke tasted foul and bitter, and it snaked into her lungs and began to choke her.” They are able to escape.
  • Nalah is captured and tied up, and her wrist is cut so that her blood will flow into a bowl. She feels pain, “and then there was numbness, and then there was pain again. Nalah’s arm throbbed and her vision swam. Her knees gave out, but the manacles held her in place, still stretched over the table. Her shoulders and her calves ached from the strain.” Nalah tried to focus on other things, but “the stinging agony of the cut on her wrist always brought her back.
  • After some of Nalah’s blood is drained, two men come into the room. One man “was dragging Soren behind him. His hands and legs were bound, and there was a bloom of purple across one side of his face where he’d been struck, but at least he had the right number of eyes.”
  • In order to escape, Soren “grabbed the metal ruler from the bench and held it out in front of him, twirling it in his fingers like a scimitar. . . The man lunged at Soren, clashing his sword so hard against Soren’s ruler that sparks flew from the impact. . . With a flourish of her arm, Nalah sent the glowing chain whipping across the attacker’s back. His clothing sizzled at its touch, and the man cried out in pain. Nalah pulled the chain back in and whipped it again, driving the man into the corner of the room like a lion tamer.” Nalah and Soren get out of the room, but encounter more people. “The nobles rushed at them. Soren parried one blow and got a hard swipe across the shoulders of one of the women, drawing blood. But then he had to duck and roll under the table to avoid the swords of the other three nobles. Nalah spotted a box full of threads and ran over to scoop them up in her hands. Twisting some of the threads around her fingers, she concentrated on imbuing them with magical energy and speed. When the woman vaulted over a table to swing her sword at Soren, Nalah flung out her hands toward her. The threads shot out like arrows, winding around the woman’s wrist and waist, binding her. . . One of the nobles had got under his guard and stuck a short knife right into his belly. Soren choked and doubled up, the ruler dropping from his hand with a clang.” The capture, blood gathering, and escape takes place over two chapters.
  • As part of a test, Nalah must face a wolf. “The flickering light picked out the hundreds of tiny blades that formed its coat, two serrated metal ears, and a jaw that disguised rows of metal teeth. . . Nalah yelped and dived aside as it punted, snapping at the air where her throat had been. . . The creature’s snarling head twisted in midair, and its teeth closed on Nalah’s leg. She screamed. The pain spiked up through her body as the wolf’s fangs sank into her flesh. Half blind with agony, Nalah threw back her head and channeled her breath into a burst of heat that struck the wolf right in the mouth. It yelped and let her go, recoiling, pawing at its face.”
  • Enforcers try to capture Nalah and Marcus. Marcus “struck, stabbing the tip of the knife into the soft exposed flesh where the Enforcer’s show met the bottom of his still trouser.” Marcus uses a magic knife, so the Enforcer cannot speak and call for help. Later, they find other Enforcers, and “Marcus lunged wildly at one of the Enforcers with his knife and then tried to bolt around them, but the other one was too quick and gave him a stunning blow across the back of the neck with his truncheon. He sprawled on the floor and the knife skittered out of his hand. . .” Marcus is captured.
  • A man grabs someone with a glove “made of deep green iridescent fabric, like a beetle’s shell. As soon as he touched the bare skin, the man’s hand spasmed and turned ashen gray, the flesh seeming to sag and shrink away. . . the hand, which continued to wither with each passing second.”
  • Tam grabs Halan and “seized her wrist, twisting it up behind her back. She gasped as he pressed his knife to her chest. . . The pain was worse than what Halan had been prepared for. She let out a sobbing yell as Tam dragged his knife across her arm, holding it out over the crystal bowl. Blood cascaded down the blade and dripped into the black pool in long, viscous strings.” Tam attempts to kill Halan, but before he does Tam is killed when “his back hit the altar with a sickening crunch, and he wheeled away and struck the wall that was peppered with the shards of his crystal bowl. Tam hung there for a second and then slid down the wall and lay still.”
  • A man throws sand into the air. “Most of the soldiers managed to duck and shield their faces, but a few were too slow as the sand melted and twisted into tiny shards of glass and flew at them. Two men fell to the ground, gasping and clutching at their faces, blood beginning to seep from a thousand tiny wounds.” The man “reached out to grasp the branch of a nearby tree. Suddenly, all the trees in the garden began to whip their branches around wildly. Two of the soldiers were knocked on their backs, and three more standing too close let out choking screams as the branches wrapped around them, hugging them tight to the trunks of the trees.”
  • A man grabs Halan’s ankle with a glove. “Something seized Halan’s ankle, feeling like a hundred biting insects were all stinging her skin at once. She screamed and tried to pull away, but the grip tightened. Halan’s vision swam and she reeled, losing her balance and hitting the ground hard. She held up a hand and watched as her skin turned gray and began to wither before her eyes.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • In New Hader, several people refer to those who can do magic as “Thauma scum.”
  • “God” is used as an exclamation once. Someone says, “God, I was so worried. . .”
  • A man tells Nalah, “You’re too young, too stupid to have these powers, you see? They should never have come to you—they’re wasted on you. You’re not even from this world! You’re a street rat, a guttersnipe. . .”
  • Several times, someone calls a person an “idiot.”
  • When Marcus encounters a dark figure, he asks, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Supernatural

  • Thaumas have magical powers that allow them to make things with one element—glass, metal, tapestry, wood, etc.
  • In the story, each world has a tawam, which is another version of themselves. When Halan goes to the other world she recognizes Ester. “This girl was New Hadar’s version of Ester—her tawam! Not everybody from the two worlds had a tawam—Ester’s ancestors must have survived the quakes, met and had children, and their children met the same people and had children, and on down the generations, for hundreds of years.”
  • Halan and Nalah have the ability to “communicate through their thoughts, a benefit of their special bond. They’d quickly gotten used to using it, sending each other messages even when they were in the same room.”
  • When Halan finds an orb and looks into it, she sees a vision. Halan wonders, “Is this another vision of the future?”
  • When Nalah looks into an orb, she sees a vision. During the vision, “the eye focused on Nalah, and she felt as if in one glance it had seen her whole life, every moment she’d lived and every moment still to come. You are lost, Child of the Clan, said a deafening voice that seemed to come from the mountains themselves. Take the journey and be found.” Because of the vision, Nalah takes a journey to a shrine.
  • Nalah is given an Aqua Needle. “Nalah was fascinated when she first saw the hollow wooden stake, its end sharpened to a point. Apparently all you needed to do was follow its magnetic pull to a point in the desert and push it into the sand. Within moments, water hidden within the earth would begin flowing from its mouth.”
  • The Transcendent Mirror allows people to travel to the different worlds.
  • A man uses Nalah’s blood to make a blood cloak. An ancient text said, “that the blood of one of these Thaumas, when joined with certain other materials, can make a substance so powerful, it becomes like an extension of the Thauma themselves. It draws power from the Thauma and imbues that power into whoever is wearing it—Fifth Clan or not.”
  • When Nalah is in shackles, Soren puts a silver coin into her mouth. Nalah uses her magic to turn the coin into a key, which allows her to remove the shackles.
  • Halan finds a hold-all bag, which looks normal but holds as many items as one can put into the bag.
  • Nalah is told she must go to a shrine and “find you what the Seer has to tell you. Your destiny be the destiny of all of us, Starchild, and it must not be delayed. Read I this in the stars. . .”
  • Nalah must use her magic to pass a series of tests. When she gets to the shrine, the walls begin to burn, and Nalah must ignore them to focus on opening a box to get a key.
  • Halan is given a magic knife that “will render anyone it cuts unable to speak for at least an hour.” Halan’s traveling companion, Marcus, is given a staff that “strikes with twice the force you put into it and will bear almost any weight without bending.”
  • Tam performs a ceremony. Halan sees him “standing at an altar, his eyes closed and his mouth moving constantly as he muttered incantations. Placed on the altar was a large crystal bowl filled with a liquid so dark it was almost black, and giving off an eerie ghost light that hurt Halan’s eyes to look at. . .” Unconscious prisoners surround the altar, and their wrists had been cut. Tam “dipped the other hand into the bowl and began to write in the air, symbols that seemed to burn on the backs of Halan’s eyelids when she blinked, written with the blood of the innocent Thauma.” Tam is attempting to draw power through using the Thauma’s blood. The ritual is described over two pages.
  • When Tam performs a ritual, New Hadar begins to tear. The ritual is going to cause the end of New Hadar. Halan and Nalah are able to stop the ritual, which creates a permanent portal between the worlds.

Spiritual Content

  • Halan enters a secret meeting. “Thank you, Halan thought, sending out a message to the spirit of Nalah’s father. It looks like your luck even works for me.”
  • Halan meets a prophet, Cyrus, who has been dead for hundreds of years. Cyrus tells her, “I am not alive, Nalah. . . Not quite—not the way you would understand it. I exist here. I have existed here since before I was born, and I will exist here for a long time after you are dead. In my short time as a mortal being, I was a Fifth Clan Thauma named Cyrus, also called the Prophet, the Blind Seer. I was blind, then, although it might be more true to say my eyes were simply . . . elsewhere.” Cyrus tells Nalah, “Since you picked up my prophecy orb, I have not left your side.”
  • Halan prays for a miracle.

Secret in the Stone

Claire and her older sister, Sophie, never imagined that climbing a ladder in a fireplace would take them to another world—Arden. Arden used to be a land of unicorns and magic. Now, the unicorns and the great guardians of magic have disappeared. The sisters, the only descendants of Arden’s royal family, can bring all the unicorns back.

Claire doesn’t think Sophie should be the heir—Sophie is the brave one, but Sophie lacks magic. The two sisters travel to Stonehaven, a Gemmer school on Starscrape Mountain, where Sophie hopes to learn how to be Arden’s heir and harness the magic of stone. The fate of Arden relies on Sophie learning how to wake the legendary moontears and bring back the unicorns. As Claire and Sophie make the treacherous trek to bring back the unicorns, they realize that some allies are traitors in disguise. With danger lurking around every corner, can the sisters unlock the secret of the unicorns before it’s too late?

Secret in the Stone focuses on the complicated sibling relationship between Claire and Sophie. Claire feels inferior to Sophie, who always acts brave, confident, and decisive. Like many siblings, Claire and Sophie do not have a calm relationship, instead they argue and fight. At one point Claire tells Sophie, “I hate you!” However, as soon as Sophie needs her, Claire jumps into danger to help her. The story highlights the girls’ love for each other and their willingness to help each other at all costs.

The story weaves in background information from The Unicorn Quest, which helps the reader keep track of the important events that happened in the previous book. Like the previous book, Secret in the Stone builds an intriguing world that revolves around warring guild villages. The story has a vast cast of characters, many of which only appear for a brief period; this may confuse some readers.

Several themes run throughout the book. Readers will learn the dangers of making assumptions about other people as well as the importance of forgiving each other. Another theme the book reinforces is the importance of thinking about how your actions affect others. Often, even when the characters have good intentions, their actions lead to negative consequences. The story also shows that when evil exists, people must face it. When Claire meets a neutral village, she tells the leader, “It’s not fair—you can’t just keep your eyes shut when the world around you is falling apart! You have to do something! What kind of a safe place is this if you’re ignoring the real problems Arden is facing?”

Secret in the Stone is an engaging story that will keep readers turning the pages. However, the book is a stepping stone to book three. The story doesn’t resolve any of the conflicts but rather sets the story up for the next book. Readers who expect a book about unicorns will be disappointed because unicorns never appear in the story. Secret in the Stone will delight readers who want to enter a world of magic; however, readers must read The Unicorn Quest first. Readers who enjoy Secret in Stone should add the Sisters of Glass series to their reading list because the book also takes readers to a captivating world where magic exists.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A stone knight comes to life. When it comes close, Sophie swings a “dagger at the stone leg, sparks flying as the blade scraped rock. The knight paused, as though confused about the tiny thing near its feet making such a big fuss. He gave the nuisance a kick, and the dagger spun through the air as Sophie fell on her side.” Before the girls could run, the knight paused, and “slowly the knight unfolded from his crouched position, and rose to a towering height.” The knight then bows to Claire and Sophie.
  • A scholar tells Claire a story about a father who sacrificed his daughter. The king “took his ailing daughter to a glade, and slipped a dagger into his only daughter’s heart. And as her royal red blood spilled onto the grass, a unicorn did finally appear. . . He placed his horn to the daughter’s heart.” The girl then transformed into a unicorn.
  • Claire and Sophie discover that Anvil and Aquila Malchain have been frozen into statues. “Anvil’s ax was raised above his head, looking as if he were about to chop something, his face snarled in an expression of rage. Aquila’s grandmother’s bun had unraveled, and her gray hair streamed out behind her as if she had been running, one hand gripping a knife while the other was clenched into a fist.” A Gemmer had turned their blood to rubies.
  • When a wraith attacks Claire, “a thick darkness flooded all of Claire’s senses—her ears, eyes, nose, mouth. The cold wasn’t just the cold of a winter’s night or the cold of a northern ocean. It was the cold that belonged to those alien, barren stretches of space. It was a cold that wrapped. That suffocated. That dragged her under.” Sophie helps Claire when she “just poked it [the wraith] and it ran, like shadows before light.”
  • Wraiths attack Claire and Sophie. Before they are hurt, riders appear. “Ropes of light crisscrossed across the night sky then snagged on the monsters, pushing them back, pulling them down. . . Each time a rope hit one, it’d scream and rear back.” The riders take Claire.
  • When Claire is taken to a secret village, a man traps her. The man “snapped his fingers and Claire was swept up into the air. The world swung back and forth as a thick net scooped her up into its valley. Its loose edges wove themselves together quickly, anchoring her to the ceiling above. She was trapped in a rope cage.” Sophie saves Claire.
  • When Claire and Sophie try to leave the hidden city, a tree root captures her. The root “reached for her ankle and wrapped around it. . .” Someone helps Claire escape the root.
  • A girl is found guilty of stealing and is sentenced to death.
  • A water plant “drifts around the lake like an animal. It’s called a Gelatinous Fish.” The Gelatinous Fish grabs Claire. Claire “felt what seemed to be rubbery tentacles, or lake weed, wrapping around her ankle, pulling her back into the deeper waters. . . The pain intensified. Black dots swarmed the edges of her vision. The passageway darkened. . .” Someone uses light to chase the fish away.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Someone gives Claire and Sophie a Kompass that is “a rare magic known only to the Malchain family that always pointed toward the one person or thing it was forged to find. In this particular case, it was Aquila.”
  • Claire and Sophie find a ladder in a fireplace. When they climb the ladder, they end up in Arden—a world where magic is real.
  • In Arden, there are four guilds of magic. Forgers work with metal, Gemmers work with rocks and gems, Spinners weave magic from thread, and Tillers work with all that grows from the earth. “Our magic, guild magic, only extends to what’s around us. . . The magic doesn’t come from within us, but from the things around us—plants, rocks, thread, metal. All we do is encourage the magic that naturally exists in those things, to make plants grow bigger and faster and stronger, for instance.”
  • In Arden, people are able to use magic, but “the only magic we have isn’t really magic at all. It’s just the ability to see the potential in each block of stone, medallion of metal, loop of thread, or seed. If someone doesn’t have magic, I think it’s just because she hasn’t learned enough about herself yet.”
  • Wraiths are dangerous creatures that kill humans. Claire describes a wraith as “big and dark and cold. It kind of looked like a skeleton wrapped in shadows.”
  • When Claire uses her Gemmer magic, it feels like a “buzz in her bones—a slight tingle that felt like her fingers were going asleep.”
  • A group uses magic to hide an entire village.
  • Sophie uses magic to make a cloak fly. Sophie and several others use cloaks to escape.
  • While trying to help a friend, Claire and her group run into Thorn, a boy they know. As they are traveling, Nett falls because “wrapped around his ankle was the thin end of a whip, its handle clutched in Thorn’s fist. Thorn gave a slight tug to the whip, and the first foot or so of the cord broke off on its own, binding Nett’s ankles together. . . He cracked the whip in Claire’s direction. She yelped; she felt the cord rush by her, coiling into a mini-Thornado above her head before dropping down.” Sophie uses her magic to free her friends and bind Thorn. “The whip had wrapped carefully around Thorn, binding him mummy-like from his feet and ending right below his nose—allowing him to breathe, but not giving him a chance to yell for help.”
  • An old fortress has Mesmerizing Opals. If people look at the light of the opals, “they would become entranced by the stone and would be no better than puppets, their minds numb and unable to think for themselves.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Apprentice Needed

Ozzy Toffey has had enough adventure. But on a dark and windy night, he gets out of bed, jumps out of the window, and walks into the ocean. After almost drowning, Ozzy sure could use the help of Rin, the wizard he hired to help find his parents. But Rin is missing.

Then Ozzy receives an envelope with an airplane ticket to New York. Ozzy and his friend Sigi are convinced that Rin sent the tickets. The two set out on what they hope will be a quick trip to find Rin. Clark, the mechanical bird Ozzy’s father left him, has a hard time getting through airport security.

When Ozzy, Sigi, and Clark get to New York, they don’t find Rin. Instead, they find a rich and powerful man who wants to capture Ozzy. Will Rin appear and help save the day? Will Ozzy figure out why he keeps walking into the ocean?

The second installment of Wizard for Hire is full of action, adventure, and humor. Clark takes a bigger role in Apprentice Needed. Readers will laugh as Clark continues to fall for metal objects. His fascination with the mailbox, spoons, and other metal objects is humorous, but it also highlights everyone’s need to feel appreciated. Everyone who reads Apprentice Needed will wish they had a metal bird-like Clark.

The villain adds suspense to the story, in a way that is more humorous than scary. Readers will have a hard time not feeling sorry for the villain, who continually is outsmarted by two kids and a wizard. The wizard, Rin, may or may not be magical—much of the magic in the story is questionable. It’s not clear if Rin causes the weather that helps Ozzy and Sigi escape or if it was a coincidence. Plus, Rin finds magic in ordinary events, like an Uber showing up when needed.

As the story progresses, Ozzy learns the importance of letting go of things that he cannot control. Rin also teaches an important lesson about being careful with what you say. Rin says, “You may throw your words around callously, but they leave impressions on all who are struck.” Apprentice Needed has well-developed, interesting characters that readers will love. The pacing of the story leads to one suspenseful event after the other. Instead of ending the story with a satisfactory conclusion, the story ends with many unanswered questions. After reading Apprentice Needed, readers will be eagerly looking for the next book in the series.

Sexual Content

  • Ozzy finds Clark in the bathtub with a flash drive, a set of keys, and Ozzy’s portable CD player. Later, Ozzy says, “Something’s flashing.” Clark replies, “There was none of that. Just talking and listening to music. Yes, the stapler kept sort of glimmering at me, but there wasn’t any flashing. Your dad didn’t build me to be that kind of bird.”

Violence

  • Ozzy thinks back to the past when his parents created a Discipline Serum that gave people “power to control one’s will, and the ultimate power to control the will of others if needed.” Their business partner “kidnapped the doctors. In doing so, they’d left Ozzy for dead. But science demands sacrifice and Ozzy’s demise was a sacrifice that Ray and Charles had been willing to take.” Later, Ray had “done away with” Ozzy’s parents.
  • Ray tries to take Ozzy and Sigi to a private location. “Ozzy and Sigi were so focused on Ray that they failed to notice the two bodyguards slipping up behind them. The men grabbed them and lifted Ozzy and Sigi as if they were made of nothing but feathers . . .” In order to escape, “Ozzy lifted his right leg and threw it back into the knee of the man who was holding him. The man’s leg buckled and they both fell to the snow-covered ground. Sigi went limp and slipped halfway out of the arms of her attacker. He attempted to squeeze her harder, but her teeth connected with his right forearm and she bit down with a sense of purpose.” Rin appears and with the weather’s help, Ozzy and Sigi are able to escape.
  • A man kidnaps Sigi. “One moment she had been standing in the parking lot of the Devil’s Punchbowl and the next she had been picked up and whisked away into the trees. She had kicked and fought as hard as she could, but the man holding her was strong, and something on a cloth near her nose had knocked her out.” Sigi is not hurt.
  • A man sneaks into a house and pulls a gun on Ozzy. The man catches Clark in a net and “then slammed it against the wall.” Rin tells Ozzy and Sigi to drop to the ground, which they do. Then Rin “spun like he was possessed, sending book after book flying with incredible accuracy. Jon’s gun hand was nailed by the M volume of an encyclopedia, and the weapon went flying across the room and up against the wall. Rin kept spinning. Book after book thwacked Jon as he struggled to fend them off and stay standing. . . Rin sent a collegiate dictionary across the room, and it made full contact with Jon’s face. The man dropped onto his stomach and then blacked out.” The group escapes.
  • Ozzy and his friends flee in a car, and Jon follows them. Jon is stuck in a traffic jam, so he “jammed the gears into reverse and flew backward into the sedan. The airbag in the red car went off as Jon gave the vehicle gas and pushed the red car back a foot or so.” Several cars are damaged, but no one is hurt.
  • As Jon is chasing Ozzy and his friends, Clark goes under the car and starts pulling and biting wires and hoses. Clark “just kept biting and tearing. Clark cut the brake lines and when Jon tried to stop, the beige Corollas kept flying straight toward where Ozzy and the others had entered the trees. Jon screamed as the car launched off the side of the road into the forest.”
  • Jon pulls up to Ozzy and his friends, who are stranded on the side of the road, and “with no fight or arguing, Rin dropped his staff and they all spun around and put their hands behind their backs. Jon cautiously bound their hands with a roll of packing tape he’d pulled from the van.” In order to escape, “Rin pushed his feet up against the seat beneath him and with all the strength he had in his legs, he propelled himself forward over the middle seat and up over Jon’s head. . . Most of Jon was smashed beneath him. Rin wriggled and bucked like a fish doing the worm. The surprise caused Jon to drop the gun. . .” Sigi “aimed her legs at Jon’s right side and began kicking wildly.” Ozzy and his friends escape.
  • Ozzy and his friends duct tape Jon to a tree.
  • Jon pulls another gun on Ozzy and his friends. “Ozzy looked up to see Jon holding Sigi, his left arm around her and the gun in his other hand. . . Sigi was putting up a fight, but her captor was strong and held a weapon while she didn’t.” Ozzy points his buzzing finger at Jon, and he “began to tremble as he held onto Sigi. His head shook and his eyes grew wide with fear. He lowered the gun he was holding and then, with one surprising move, he brought his arm up and smashed the gun against the side of his own head. The blow stunned him and caused him to stumble forward.” Sigi hits the man, and “the hired goon fell to the deck, out cold. . .”
  • Rin jumps into the ocean, and then “something exploded out of the water and made contact with the Spell Boat.” The boat is split in two. “Both of the remaining halves were beginning to sink.” Jon is able to swim to the lifeboat.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • The wizard casts spells. For example, he says, “Resped unidino,” and “the words caused a small flame to burn in his hand and light the space.”
  • Rin “snapped his fingers” and made someone temporarily mute. The man was “trying to scream obscenities—but no sound came from his mouth.”
  • Someone or something is taking over Ozzy’s mind and causing him to walk to the ocean. The first time this happens, Ozzy crawls out of bed and smashes his bedroom window. “Ozzy just stood there, his mind feeding him messages he didn’t want to obey. Without warning or reason, he ran across the room, barreling directly into the already fractured glass with his right shoulder.” When Ozzy flew through the window, “His body crumpled up as it came to a stop near two large boulders.” Ozzy walked into the ocean and “he moved deeper, as wave after wave came thundering down on top of him. . . Water filled his mouth and blinded his eyes. . . The sea ripped his legs out from under him, and Ozzy sank below the wet and deadly surface.”
  • Someone or something is taking over Ozzy’s mind and causing him to drive his motorcycle too fast through the woods. A branch hits Ozzy’s helmet, causing it to spin and cover his eyes. “The motorcycle was running at top speed, and Ozzy was weaving and maneuvering through the forest like a skilled, blindfolded pilot.” When Ozzy gets to the beach, “the back of the bike flipped up and sent Ozzy sailing straight into the ocean. . .” When Ozzy hits the water, he “instantly came to—his mind was his again.”
  • Ozzy’s finger, which has a strange birthmark, begins to buzz. When a police officer tries to arrest Ozzy, “his finger vibrated, his mind cleared, and electricity shot up through his legs and into his mind. Ozzy reached out and pointed toward Officer Greg, who was sitting in the police car’s driver’s seat with the door open. The officer’s body went rigid and he threw the vehicle into drive. Then, without a moment of hesitation, he slammed his right foot onto the gas pedal.” The officer drives towards a cliff but jumps out before the car crashes into the ocean.
  • When Ozzy goes into the ocean, “a strong rubbery rope of water coiled around his ankle” and pulled him under. “Going limp, his finger buzzed. The thick water gripping his left hand relaxed and was smothered by the ocean. Ozzy reached his free hand over and touched the wet ropes around his right arm. Immediately they unraveled and joined the greater body of water he was sinking in.” Ozzy is able to break the bonds of the water and resurface.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

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