Friday, October 31, 2008

Enchanting Review: Sucks To Be Me

SUCKS TO BE ME: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe)
KIMBERLY PAULEY
Paranormal YA
Mirrorstone
ISBN# 978-0-7869-5028-7
304 Pages
$14.95
Hardcover—Available August 2008

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Mina Hamilton’s grown up with her vampire parents and never really gave much thought about becoming a member of the undead herself, until well, now. It seems word has gotten out that her parents are living with a mortal and even worse yet in their eyes, they know she knows they’re vampires. Now the Vampire Council wants Mina to choose, vampire or non-vampire, as soon as possible.

SUCKS TO BE ME is a really unique, hilarious concept. What happens when a girl with vampire parents is forced to choose whether she wants to remain mortal or become a vampire? It’s not as easy as a decision as it could be. But with classes, brochures and a semi guidance counselor in the hilarious Ms. Riley, Mina’s being steered to making the right choice for her. As Mina finds out, a lot of the popular vampire lore simply isn’t true, like they can go out in the sun, just be sure to put on lots of sunscreen.

Ms. Pauley creates some very memorable characters in SUCKS TO BE ME. I particularly enjoyed the classes Mina was forced to take in order to help her choose whether or not to become a vampire. I thought those were some of the funniest scenes in the book and I loved the titles of the handouts/brochures she was given. Mina’s uncle is also a really great character.

Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe) is Ms. Pauley’s first novel. She is the founder and owner of Young Adult Books Central, one of the leading YA (& Kids!) literature sites on the Internet. As a YA book reviewer, she has interviewed authors such as Clive Barker, Lois Duncan, and Garth Nix and keeps up with pretty much anything going on in the YA publishing world. You can visit her personal webpage online at http://kimberlypauley.com and read more about SUCKS TO BE ME at http://kimberlypauley.com/sucks-to-be-me/

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
July 2008

Enchanting Review: Spirit

SPIRIT
J.P. HIGHTMAN
Paranormal Young Adult
HarperTeen
ISBN# 978-0-06-085063-0
224 Pages
$16.99
Hardcover--Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

There’s only one way to describe SPIRIT: a spellbinding page-turner. From the moment I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down. J.P. Hightman crafts a riveting story that grabs hold of the reader immediately and doesn’t let go until the startling, goosebump giving conclusion.

Tess and Tobias Goodravens, seventeen years old and newly married, are already seasoned ghost hunters. Now on the hunt for ‘The Ones Who Got Away’, witches who somehow managed to escape the Salem Witch Trials, Tess and Tobias find themselves heading to Blackthorne, a tiny, haunted town in Massachusetts. Tess is already feeling anxious about the upcoming experience, while Tobias too is a little uneasy, but he does his best to hide his true feelings from his wife. Along the way, the couple are forced to take a train ride that will have extreme life changing consequences.

Wow, what an unexpected paranormal read. Aside from its unique setting and time period, Tess and Tobias are two of the more unusual characters I’ve ever run across, which I think made them all the more endearing. I loved the whole thing, the twists and turns, the unusual characters that populated the story.

An amazing tale, SPIRIT will leave the reader with goosebumps as they near the startling conclusion that will leave them speechless. I can’t wait to read more from this talented author.

J. P. Hightman is a professional screenwriter and the author of the saint of dragons and samurai. He divides his time between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Enchanting Review: Princess Ben

PRINCESS BEN
CATHERINE GILBERT MURDOCK
YA Fantasy
Houghton Mifflin
ISBN# 978-0618959716
344 Pages
$16.00
Hardcover—Available Now

Rating: 5 Enchantments

I have to say I absolutely adored this book. It pulled me in right from the first paragraph. Told as a memoir, promising to ‘tell the real truth’ of Princess Ben, Ms. Murdock weaves a wonderful story about Ben’s struggles to adapt to a life without her parents as she’s thrust headfirst into the Queen’s world and expected to survive. Faced with spending the rest of her days with Queen Sophia, a woman her mother detested, Ben finds herself suddenly taking Princess lessons, on a diet and spending her mornings dancing under the watchful eye of her tutor. All she wants to do is return to the life she knew, but as the Princess next in line to the throne she simply cannot. When a war is threatened by the neighboring country, who both she and Queen Sophia believe are behind her parents and the King’s deaths, Ben finds herself about to be betrothed to stave off an attack, the very idea of which has Ben stunned.

Princess Ben has quickly become one of my favorite characters. I loved her feisty spirit and her willingness to sabotage anyone’s plans for her that she didn’t agree with, a trait that comes in very handy in the latter part of the story. Throughout the book, we watch Ben slowly grow up and see that things may not be exactly the way she perceived them early on. One of my favorite scenes is when Ben finds the secret passageway in her room and begins her journey into magic. When she discovers the reason for all the ‘ex’ rooms in the castle, she quickly begins to spend her nights traveling about, which prompts the staff to believe the place is haunted.

Filled with unexpected twists and turns that take Ben from a Prince's daughter, to orphan and finally to a real Princess, this is one book fantasy fans and fans of fairy tales won’t want to miss. Anyone looking for a fun, entertaining YA Fantasy won't go wrong picking up PRINCESS BEN.

Ms. Murdock grew up in small-town Connecticut, on a tiny farm with honeybees, two adventurous goats, and a mess of Christmas trees. You can visit her online at her website www.catherinemurdock.com and read Chapter One of PRINCESS BEN http://www.catherinemurdock.com/books/pbchapterone.html

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
September 2008

Enchanting Review: Vamps

VAMPS
NANCY A. COLLINS
Paranormal YA
HarperTeen
ISBN# 978-0-06-134917-1
222 Pages
Trade—Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

New Bloods, Old Bloods and Van Helsings populate this tale of privileged vampires in New York City. Lilith Todd is an Old Blood and reigns supreme amongst the privileged sect at Bathory Academy. When one night things go terribly wrong and one of her closest friends is killed by a Van Helsing, Lilith vows revenge on the vamp that she believes caused the situation to go badly in the first place.

Cally Monture is a new blood, and thanks to the legacy of her father is forced to start at the Bathory Academy, a move that instantly makes her the outcast. Its not bad enough being new—not to mention a muchly despised New Blood—but being the reason Lilith lost her best friend instantly puts a target on her back as Lilith makes no bones about letting her know she wants revenge.

I liked Cally a little more than Lilith in this one. Cally, being a New Blood is having tons of problems fitting in to the Bathory Academy, a private school specifically for Old Bloods. But that’s not the only thing; she has to quickly catch up on what she doesn’t know—transformation, pretty much everything. And its not only the students that aren’t exactly welcoming, some of the teachers are more than happy to let her know she isn’t wanted at her new digs. But we soon find out Cally may not be all that she seems, a surprise that has me wondering where the series goes from here.

VAMPS is a fun paranormal read. A lot of vampire myths are twisted in this one, and I especially liked how they were explained away. I really liked Lilith’s secret addiction to her compact mirror so she can look at her reflection while she still has one. The appearance of the Van Helsings and Peter’s inexplicable attraction to Cally, which becomes clearer at a particular point in the book. I liked watching the unusual relationship between Peter and Cally play out. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment of the series.


Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Enchanting Review: LilyDale: Awakening

LILY DALE: AWAKENING
WENDY CORSI STAUB
Paranormal YA
Walker
ISBN# 978-0802796554
256 Pages
$7.99
Paperback—Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

After the unexpected death of her mother, Calla finds herself spending a few weeks in Lily Dale with Odelia, her unusual grandmother who she barely knows. But that's not the oddest thing, she soon finds out Odelia is a registered medium and Lily Dale is filled with people just like her. But that’s not even the weirdest part, it seems that Calla herself might just share her grandmother’s gift as a medium and soon she finds herself embroiled in a mystery; and wondering if her mother’s death really was an accident or was it something more, something her newfound gift can uncover?

LILY DALE: AWAKENING is an interesting take on a psychic teenager. With Calla’s life turned upside down, finding herself in Lily Dale with the grandmother she barely knows, Calla’s forced to come to terms with a lot of things. Like trying to figure out the bits and pieces of the argument she remembers her mother having with Odelia years ago, the same fight that kept Odelia out of their lives until the funeral. And when Calla realizes she might just share the same gift as Odelia, can she help a grieving mother find her missing daughter? Or will she end up in danger herself?

I really enjoyed LILY DALE: AWAKENING. Calla is an interesting character, fighting to adjust to her new surroundings and the fact her grandmother can see the dead. And maybe she can do, given she’s sure she saw something out of the corner of her eye, let alone when the woman appears at the door, asking to see her grandmother. What Calla first thinks of as a rude teenager, standing in Odelia’s flowers couldn’t be a real ghost could it? I loved Odelia, she’s just a really great unique character. I look forward to reading the second book in Ms. Staub's LILY DALE series.

WENDY CORSI STAUB is a best-selling writer of adult fiction, regularly appearing on the USA Today and New York Times best-seller lists. She grew up near the town of Lily Dale, and has had personal experiences with psychics in the town. Her adult best-seller, In the Blink of an Eye also took place in Lily Dale. Wendy lives with her family in Katonah, New York. Visit her Web site at www.wendycorsistaub.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
August 2008

Enchanting Review: You Just Can't Get Enough (Gossip Girl: The Carlyles)

YOU JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH (GOSSIP GIRL THE CARLYLES)
Created by CECILY VON ZIEGESAR
Written by Annabelle Vestry
Contemporary YA
Poppy
ISBN# 978-0-316-02065-7
208 Pages
$10.99
Trade—Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

It doesn’t seem like the Carlyle triplets Avery, Owen and Baby have only been in Manhattan for only a week. They haven’t even begun to make their mark despite the party that managed to get the cops called and Avery taken to the police station. But not everything is smooth sailing for the triplets, Baby’s trying to get back in the good books at Constance Billard, Avery’s already got one frenemy in Jack, and Owen’s trying to get over Kelsey, who just happens to be the ex-girlfriend of one of his good friends from the swim team. What will happen if Rhys finds out that Owen’s the real reason Kelsey broke up with him?

The Carlyles are a great addition to the Gossip Girl series. I have to say I’m partial to Owen and Baby. Jack’s the perfect bad girl, out to oust Avery from her inner circle of friends but with Avery knowing the truth about her financial situation, Jack is practically being blackmailed till the truth comes out and then Jack is hopeful it’ll send Avery out of Constance Billard, out of Manhattan and straight out of New York. I loved Owen having to struggle with the fact he’s interested in Kelsey, but knowing Rhys is still into her as well. The swim team scenes with Owen and Rhys are actually some of my favorite in the book.

Fans of the Gossip Girl series won’t go wrong picking this one up.

Look for the Gossip Girl: The Carlyles #3 ‘Take a Chance on Me’ out in May 2009. Read the first chapter of YOU JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH here: http://www.pickapoppy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/GGC2Chap1.pdf

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Monday, October 27, 2008

Guest Blogger: Traci Hall

Hi everyone – I am Traci Hall, author of Love’s Magic for adults and Her Wiccan, Wiccan Ways for Young Adults. I want to dish on Halloween and things that go bump in the night! Get your minds out of the gutter, people – I am talking ghosts, poltergeists and angry spirits who want revenge on the living. Doesn’t that give you a delicious shiver?

In my medieval paranormal novels, I write about legends and myths and family curses. It is a ton of fun, and the research takes forever, just because I go off on a tangent for about four hours following a lead on something haunted. In my young adult novels, there are ghosts, curses, family legends AND the Wiccan experience, all viewed from a fourteen year old girl’s perspective. Again, the research is amazing.

There are documented instances of real people suddenly bursting into flame – for no reason. Astral travel, especially between a recently deceased person and a sleeping person, is common. The Medium, Ghost Hunters and many other television shows have made the paranormal genre super, super hot.

But what is Halloween really about? Celebrating the dead? It comes from the Celtic tradition of Samhain – a celebration of the harvest. No Snickers or Twizzlers to be found, folks. And Halloween, the name, comes from All Hallows Eve – which was literally the night before All Hallows Day, or rather, All Saints Day.

In contemporary times, Halloween means dressing up as your favorite character and roaming the neighborhood for the house that gives out the best treats. For grown ups, its about the cider and bobbing for apples before heading back to the punch bowl.

The only scary thing about that is drinking so much you forget your good judgment and go home with someone you thought was a Prince Charming, but once the mask is off, he’s more of a toad.

My favorite thing about Halloween is the cheesy B horror movies on all month long. Halloween, Day of the Dead, Friday the 13th, Dawn of the Dead, Dead and Breakfast, the Dead Rising – and my husband just bought a sure-fire classic, Zombie Strippers.

On the night of the 31st we make popcorn and caramel apples and curl up on the couch for the Hall family favorites – Lost Boys, The Omen, and Amityville Horror.

What are your favorite movies? For everyone who gives me a title of a Classic Horror movie, I will send you a bookmark and put you into a drawing for a free copy of Love’s Magic! Don’t give me Frankenstein or Dracula, either – give me something GOOD JJ

Traci
traciella@aol.com
www.tracihall.com
www.traciehall.com

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Guest Blogger: Judith Graves

Sometimes a Werewolf is Just a Man in a Doggie Suit:

Werewolves, vampires, witches, and demons are like the four food groups of paranormal fiction, and staples of my laptop’s diet. I’m a young adult paranormal fiction author (Sounds like a confession, doesn’t it?), just starting out on my writing career. I’m keen. I’m determined. I’m a tad insane.

I just might make it.

I recently had the pleasure of accepting a few author bookings, one for my local public library’s teen book club, and another for a nearby high school. Interactions with the target audience - real live teens! (Insert jump for joy.)

Faster than you can say, “Are those fangs in your mouth or are you just happy to see me?” my enthusiasm for the upcoming author gigs nosedived. Really, it was my own fault.

Knowing my high school presentation was going to be at a Catholic school, I asked a Christian friend of mine her opinion on the paranormal four food groups. (I know, I know…I’m cringing as I type this.) I had hoped to find some common ground with this individual, a mutual recognition of the fact that we were discussing FICTION. But alas, my paranormal plate was picked clean until, apparently, we were no longer talking fantasy, and my writing was promoting the novel and movie rights aspirations of Beelzebub.

I was truly saddened by this. I write dry, sarcastic, witty characters, all of which have normal teen issues. Friends. Boyfriends. Parents. Although I admit, my stories aren’t just about growing up. This is growing up with fangs, fur and hankering for raw meat. (And you thought your high school experience sucked.)

But promoting the devil? I don’t think so. (Have you seen the Exorcist? That’s one scary dude!)

Have I alone been challenged in this way?

I toss down the gauntlet.

Paranormal authors of the blogosphere – have you encountered any flack for your fiction sustenance of choice? What treats do you have, in your skull-and-cross-bones bag of tricks, to smooth over similar situations?

And in this ghoulish month of October I say to all: sometimes a werewolf is just a man in a doggie suit.

Visit Judith online:
Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/judithgraves and her blog with Kitty Keswick: http://www.wolfychicks.blogspot.com/

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Enchanting Review: Sight

SIGHT
ADRIENNE MARIA VRETTOS
Mystery YA
Simon & Schuster
ISBN# 978-1-4169-0657-5
254 pages
$16.99
Print – Available now

Rating: 3 Enchantments

Dylan is a psychic. She has visions of missing children that can help the police. Unfortunately, she usually sees the last moments of a child’s life, so when the child is found, he or she is dead. These haunting visions scare Dylan and emotionally scar her, so she doesn’t think about them unless she absolutely has to; not even her best friend Pilar is aware of Dylan’s psychic abilities.

Then Cate arrives in town, and Dylan finds herself revealing more of her secrets than she has ever before. But there’s something off about Cate that Dylan can’t place and probably doesn’t want to figure out. Cate is overeager to be accepted in Dylan’s hometown but her ways of going about doing this are undeniably odd. Dylan’s new friendship with Cate causes a rift in her long-standing friendship with Pilar, especially because of each friend’s unrevealed yet lurking secrets. But when Pilar’s little secret Grace disappears, Dylan realizes she has to embrace her sight to clear up all the mystery and save little Gracie’s life.

SIGHT starts off promisingly with an intriguing mystery and psychic visions to accompany it. However, the plot slows down after that and ends weakly; I was especially disappointed by the lukewarm climax. From the way the story started, I was expecting more dangerous encounters and frightening visions than I got. I’m not saying that the plot was bad; it just could’ve been written much better. There wasn’t much characterization, and I would’ve appreciated more development of Dylan’s character. It was difficult for me to connect with any of the characters, and I sometimes felt frustrated with them when I realized an important connection or clue long before they did. There was also a certain air of unreality about this story. It wasn’t Dylan’s psychic visions that caused this because those were actually one of the more plausibly aspects of this story. It was a mixture of the characters’ slowness in piecing together the mystery and the villain’s lack of motive. I couldn’t understand why many of the characters did what they did, and this confusion greatly diminished my enjoyment of the story. There might’ve been a deeper message in this story, but if there was, it was buried so deep I couldn’t find it. Overall, SIGHT was interesting but it didn’t live up to its full potential.

SIGHT is Adrienne Maria Vrettos’ second novel, her first being SKIN. You can visit her online at www.adriennemariavrettos.com

Rachael Stein
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Enchanting Review: Jellicoe Road

JELLICOE ROAD
MELINA MARCHETTA
Contemporary YA
HarperTeen
ISBN# 978-0-06-143183-8
419 pages
$17.99
Print – Available now

Rating: 5 Enchantments

Xavier Webster Schroeder, better known as Webb, was a friendly and fun-loving guy who was always full of life. He was the string that held his group of friends so close together. He was Narnie’s caring brother, Tate’s lifeline, Jude’s buddy, and Fitz’s partner in crime. All five were inseparable, and they did everything together, including creating a game called the territory wars between the Townies, Cadets, and the kids of Jellicoe School.

Twenty-two years later, the territory wars have become a much more serious tradition and are no longer the silly game they were intended to be. Taylor Markham is the leader of the Underground Community at Jellicoe School, which mean she’s in charge of one of the teams in the territory wars. She has worked hard for this position because she believes it will give her the freedom she craves—the freedom to find her mother who abandoned her six years earlier.

But Taylor has many more responsibilities that take up her time, like developing strategies to implement in the territory wars and taking care of all the students in her dormitory house. And then Hannah disappears, and Taylor loses the closest thing she has to a parent and friend at Jellicoe School. Consumed with worry, Taylor starts to lose the self-control she has worked so hard to develop for the past six years and bit by bit, long-buried memories start to come back to the present. People she never thought she’d never see again, like Jonah Griggs, and those she wished she had never met, like the Brigadier reenter her life and little details that she once thought were insignificant are coming back to haunt her. In this incredibly moving and beautifully written masterpiece, Melina Marchetta weaves an unforgettable story about friendship, family, love, and redemption.

JELLICOE ROAD is without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read. Although it starts off a bit confusing, with two interconnected yet seemingly separate narratives, the story is just so captivating and thankfully becomes much clearer. It is easy to tell that all the small details of this story were written with care. The plot may seem a bit messy at times, especially because there are so many events occurring or being remembered that don’t seem related, but when all these incidents turn out to be connected, it seems to obvious that they were in the first place. Even with all these different smaller stories going on, I was never distracted from the main plot and all the details were surprisingly easy to remember. As the plot was created so carefully, so were the characters, especially Taylor. Emotions just pour out from the pages through Taylor and Griggs which allowed me to connect with them in a way I don’t usually do when reading. Marchetta has a way of drawing the reader into the story so they feel they are right next to the characters even though they are outside the book. The emotional journey the characters experience is so moving and so wonderfully drawn out. I highly recommend JELLICOE ROAD, an incredibly beautifully written novel, to all readers.

Melina Marchetta is the author of two other award-winning novels, LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI and SAVING FRANCESCA, which I look forward to reading in the future, as well as the upcoming FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK.

Rachael Stein
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Enchanting Review: Libertad

LIBERTAD
ALMA FULLERTON
MG contemporary
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
ISBN# 9781554551064
215 pages
$11.95
Trade-Available now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Libertad and his brother Julio live near the Guatemala City Dump. After the death of their mother, the brothers decide to go to America to search for their father. They have to survive on their own on the long and dangerous journey to the states not knowing if they will find their father but longing for libertad—freedom from the garbage.

This story gives readers a glimpse of the lives of two children who live across the border and what they have to do in order to find their long lost father.

As a former bilingual teacher, I often heard similar tales from my student’s families of the struggles and hardships of trying to cross the border. My own family was migrants from the interior of Mexico. I heard many stories too while growing up.

Fullerton paints an accurate portrayal of the harsh lives of those who struggle to come to American. The rhythm of this story pulls the reader along as Libertad and his brother encounter others who either try to take advantage of them or show acts of kindness. We see the street children of Mexico City, the allure of sniffing glue to forget, and the fear of la migra—immigration police.

Fullerton states in the back of her book that over 80,000 unaccompanied migrant children attempt to enter the United States. This is a fact. I saw this as a bilingual teacher in an L.A. county school. This book is a must read. If anything to get a taste of what others go through in their search for libertad.

Alma Fullerton was born in Ottawa and grew up in a large military family. She's lived all over Canada and in Europe and now resides in Ontario with her husband and two daughters. Check out more at www.almafullerton.com

Kim
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
October 2008

Enchanting Review: Night Road

NIGHT ROAD
A.M. JENKINS
Contemporary YA
HarperTeen
ISBN# 978-0-06-054605-2
362 pages
$16.99
Hardcover – Available now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Cole leads a lonely existence. It’s not enough that he’s unlike other humans, or omnivores; he’s a hemovore, someone who feeds exclusively on blood. Sunlight is to be avoided at all costs, but Cole even goes so far as to avoid other humans unless he needs to feed. He’s a traveler, so he never stays in one place for long, and he prefers to be alone, away even from other hemovores like him.

However, when an old friend Johnny, the leader of the Colony of hemovores, requests Cole’s presence in Manhattan, Cole obliges. He doesn’t know why he’s being summoned yet he goes all the same. It turns out that there’s a newly created heme who needs to be trained and protected, and Johnny things Cole it the best man for the job. But training Gordon is more difficult than Cole expects even with the help of a fellow heme traveler Sandor. Gordon doesn’t seem to want to accept that he’s not a normal human anymore, making him a potential threat to the secrecy and safety of the Colony. Cole understands that should Gordon commit too large of a mistake he’ll have to dispose of the new heme, but he also refuses to think he could let that happen. This is a journey that will change both of them—for better or worse.

I must first begin by saying I loved the idea of hemovores. It is a huge twist on the myth of vampires which actually makes it seem more realistic. NIGHT ROAD is both a physical and emotional journey, and one I felt was very well-written. Cole’s character is relatively easy to understand and yet at the same time he retains an air of mystery and dark secrets that haunt him but are gradually revealed. The switches between Cole’s present journey and past memories were coordinated well and easily flowed together. Gordon’s and Sandor’s characters were also well developed although not to the extent of Cole’s. I did think that Cole’s background could’ve been more clarified and its effect on his life written to be more evidently significant, as I felt it should’ve been. The action part of the plot is never too exciting and the most promising part of that was left off at the end. However, I felt the most important part of the story was Cole’s and Gordon’s emotional growth, which were really what defined NIGHT ROAD as such a beautiful story.

A.M. Jenkins has authored several other young adult novels including the award-winning REPOSSESSED.

Rachael Stein
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Enchanting Review: Dead Is A State Of Mind

DEAD IS A STATE OF MIND
MARLENE PEREZ
Paranormal mystery
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN# 9780152062101
192 pages
$7.99
Available—January 2009

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Daisy Giordano has just learned she’s not a norm after all. She does have psychic abilities. While she tries them out, more things happen in her town. But this is Nightshade, where out of the ordinary is normal.

A new hottie shows up at Nightshade High. Duke Sherrad claims he’s descended from a long line of gypsies. He also claims he can do fortune-telling. Even though Daisy is from a family of psychics, she is skeptical. Then a teacher is found dead after one of his predictions. Daisy wonders if maybe Duke is the real deal. And then Daisy’s boyfriend Ryan starts acting weird and distances himself right before the prom. Talk about not good timing.

Rumors fly around that the murderer is a werewolf. Can Daisy find out the truth? Or has she finally met her match?

This is the second book in a funny paranormal mystery series. Fans of Perez’s first book won’t be disappointed. Daisy is back, continuing her Veronica Mars like sleuth hunting in a town with vampires and werewolves.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Daisy’s spunky character and cheered her on.
Who can’t relate with Daisy? Not only is she out to solve a mystery but struggling to make sense of her relationship with Ryan.

I love the whole prophetic jukebox. Perez does a great job setting up the mystery and showing how Daisy finds out more than she bargained for. I can’t wait for the next book DEAD IS SO LAST YEAR. This is a fun, fast-paced series that will keep readers wanting more.

Marlene Perez is the author of Dead is the New Black, Love in the Corner Pocket, and Unexpected Development, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. She lives in Orange County, California. Check out more at her website. www.marleneperez.com

Kim
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
October 2008

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Guest Blogger: Kitty Keswick

Did you know that sleeping under the glow of a full moon was once thought to transform the person into a werewolf? Sheesh! Does that mean camping under the stars is out? Or how about taking a sip of water from a wolf track? Yep, another strange and ill-tasting belief. The number one most common belief on becoming a werewolf was to be bitten by one and…survive. I guess no one has invented a vaccine, yet. What about being born into the curse? My characters in my novel Freaksville are born Lycans. How would you like that for Parental DNA? More on Lycans later.
Hairy eyebrows or uni-brow were once considered a sign that the person was indeed a werewolf. That’s a case for waxing if I ever heard one. “Spa appointment for one please. Can you fit me in before the next full moon?” Hollywood put a more supernatural spin on things and the pentagram and hairy palms became a dead give-a-way of our furry friends. “If your palms are hairy… then you might be a werewolf. Hey Jeff Foxworthy, I think I’m on to something.
Once bitten the remedies for Lycanthropy were few and far-out. A shot through the heart with a silver bullet would slay your hairy beast. Silver deemed a magical metal of purity in any form, should be avoided by most Weres— as if it was the Black Death or flea dip. For werewolves inclined to a more spiritual path, some believed praying to St. Hubert would break the curse.
If howling at the moon and running through the forest or the streets of London, while furry and on all fours sounds like a peachy keen good time. Then being a werewolf might be for you. Like any supernatural being, there are some downfalls to being well, wolfy. (That movie freaked the beejesus out of me when I was a kid. I saw American Werewolf in London, again a few years ago and found it incredible funny… The difference? Age and a well-lit room stocked with silver. Ebay anyone?)
There’s a wonderful piece of literature, which focused on the down side of being a werewolf. Marie de France wrote it in or around 1160, I think. I’m awful with names and dates. I’ll paraphrase it in modern terms. The husband was a Knight that turned furry once a month and his cunning wife…thought she’d trade up.
“Hubby where do you disappear to at night?”
“I turn into a werewolf and frolic in the forest with my furry friends.” Okay he didn’t say all that, but it’s my retold tale!
She listens to him then pulls out the twenty questions and asks him whether he goes clothed or not. The Knight is a little dense and answers.
“I go completely unclothed.” Duh! Wolves don’t have pockets…or do they? That’s my next blog Fashion of the Furry and Famous.
“Where do you leave your clothes?” The wife asks.
“I can’t say. Because if my duds were snatched. I’d be stuck as a wolf forever…or until my clothes were returned to me.” Could you imagine what would happen if the Dry Cleaner lost his shirt or if the dryer ate his sock? Millions of werewolves worldwide must be stuck as wolves because of hungry dryers or clerk errors. So sad! Anyhow, back to the story.
Here’s the depressing part, the wife with the help of her boyfriend, snatched her husband’s clothes. And he was stuck as a wolf forever. Poor Schlub.
So there’s lots of nifty tales about werewolves out there. I, of course, had to totally twist everything inside out and backwards and make up my own? Why? I never liked things to be easy.
Freaksville as the name implies, is full of freakish things. Oh and one very big sixteen-year-old-drama-queen, Kasey Maxwell. My heroine. She pulled the short straw in the DNA department. Women of the Maxwell family have the gift of sight. But that’s not all…nope. Poor Kasey is part Lycan. What’s a Lycan? Well, hold on to your knicker’s I’m almost there. She doesn’t really know the cause of her freakish gifts, visions, seeing ghosts, attracting British hotties. But she learns. She’s also half Valkyrie. Wait. Whoa! Valka-what? That’s a whole other blog.
Below are some notes that, two characters from Freaksville threw together. Kasey Maxwell and her BFF Gillie Godshall. Hopefully, this will shed some light on Lycans.
Kasey and Gillie's Notes on Lycans
Lycans: [lahy-kan]
Canis Lupus Supernaturalise
A race of supernatural beings that look human but can shapeshift into a wolves. The name comes from the word Lycanthropy. [lahy-kan-thruh-pee]

Lycans start to have the ability to shift in their teens. Lycan never shift into half-man, half-wolf. The moon rules them, forcing young Lycans to shift forms. Lycans are larger than the average wolf. {Need more data.} Increased sense of smell, sight, and hearing has been documented. They are not to be confused with werewolves. {I 've never met a werewolf} Werewolves, the word
Were comes from the Greek or old English word for man. Werewolves are half-man and half-beast.
See: Canis Lupus = wolf
Also See: Canis Lupus Boyfriendiais {Further study is needed Lycan males are hotties !!! }
So you want more wolfy tales? You came to the right place. Freaksville is coming soon from The Wild Rose Press, Climbing Rose Line. And my sister in wolfy tales, Judith Graves has a book Under My Skin coming out, too. Her wolves are Wolvens…a whole other furry freak.
Kitty Keswick
Tag:
Freaksville is the first in a new YA Paranormal series from The Wild Rose Press. It is told through the sixteen-year-old heroine's blog.
Blurb for freaksville:

Add visions, ghosts and four-legged monsters into the mix…you’ll get FREAKSVILLE.

Maxwell women have premonitions. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly relinquish. A vision about Josh Johnstone, the English exchange student, leads Kasey into new waters— a haunted theater, and her first kiss. Yet, Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking…


Kasey’s Blog:

Ack! I’m in Freaksville! On my sixteenth birthday what did I get? A car? A pony? No. I got the gift of sight. Soooo not fair! It’s a gift I totally wish I had a receipt for…I’d return to sender. I didn’t ask to be freak girl. The kicker is if I touch something I get visions. Now why couldn’t I turn invisible? That’s a gift I could use. Sheesh. If it wasn’t for my BFF Gillie I’d go insane. That was until I touched a pencil belonging to Josh-Hottie-Foreign-Exchange-Student-from-England. He’s sooo cute, jet-black hair, bright blue eyes…whenever I’m around him my stomach does backflips.


Kasey’s Fab Five Favs
1. The British accent…and snogging. It sounds gross, but believe me it isn’t.
2. Cute guy in English class. (Josh)
3. Snogging…again, believe me, it rocks!
4. Shopping ’til I melt into the mall. (A given.)
5. Oh yes and snogging, smooching, kissing Josh!

XOXOX - Kasey

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Guest Blogger: Laurie Stolarz

Hi, Enchanting Reviews! Thanks so much for inviting me to guest-blog here!

Okay, so my spooky entry involves my first novel, BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES. As some may already know, I grew up in Salem, MA. When I mention this to people, they automatically assume that the city itself had a lot of influence on my work. But actually, it didn’t – at least not in the way that one might think.

I mean, yes, Salem definitely had its influence on me. It was no big deal, for example, if a Witch (a male or female who practices Wicca as their religion) was in my class or on my sports team. Salem has many Witches, so the religion is accepted and people take it seriously. But, aside from that, I saw Salem as being a pretty regular place with regular stores, regular people, and normal places to eat.

True, Salem is abundant in history, but at first glance – at least for me – it appears to be even more abundant in tourism, particularly around Halloween. Just walk by the Salem Witch Museum with its humungous gift shop full of flaming eyeballs and cackling witch dolls; the Pirate Museum with its employee-turned-actors ordering passersby to walk the plank and pretending to steal your loot; and see the Salem Wax Museum, which boasts a lab in which to see the horrors of Frankenstein and his evil creature. Even last weekend, I thought I’d give Salem another chance by taking my son to see the Salem Witch Village, the first museum in the country to clear up the misconceptions of the Wiccan religion by teaching the history, practices, and beliefs of modern Witches today. But I was discouraged to learn that they’d turned their once educational village into a haunted one.

All this in mind, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that growing up I didn’t really think much of Laurie Cabot’s, Salem’s official Witch’s, claims of having psychic abilities. I merely saw these claims as an extension of her commercial potential.

Laurie Cabot is famous in the city, as well as around the world, having written books on Witchcraft, appeared on television, and given lectures all over the country. To me, she was a business-savvy woman, someone who capitalized on Salem’s commercialism, what with her long black dress and jet black hair. But psychic ability? I had my doubts.

Growing up, I’d see her around the city, shopping at the grocery store where I worked, and doing business at the local bank. She owned a magick supplies shop in Salem – and still does – and so I assumed her long-black-dress-wearing-psychic-ability-claiming way of life helped to fuel her sales, not to mention supporting the rights of Witches by showing the world that they do indeed exist as every day people. One Halloween, for example, I remember there being a two-hour wait to even step foot inside her store.

I didn’t begrudge her for any of this, mind you. A marketing major in college, and an entrepreneur to the core, I simply thought what she was doing made good business sense – right along with those flaming eyeballs.

Years later, in graduate school for creative writing, I wrote BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES. My impulse for writing the novel stemmed from a couple things. First, I wanted to write a novel that would have appealed to me as a teen, namely one that had a blending of suspense, romance, and drama. Secondly, I thought it might be interesting to have my main character dabble in folk magic and herbal remedies as a means of self empowerment. My grandmother, who had some experience with the sixth sense, used these herbal remedies in her day-to-day life. And so my main character, Stacey Brown, ended up practicing folk magic. She uses it as a way of dealing with recurring nightmares that turn out to be premonitions warning her that her roommate is going to be killed in four days.

So, long story short, the first draft of my novel was complete. It was two days before I was to defend it in front of my thesis committee, and I was shopping at TJMaxx. I was standing in the “home goods” department, scooting down to check out a water fountain thingamigjig, when I felt someone grab my arm from behind, and shove something into my palm. I turned around, only to find Laurie Cabot – long black dress and all.

Though I’d seen her many times before, we’d never formally met, nor had I ever spoken to her. She was physically trembling when she saw me. I looked down to see what she’d placed in my hand. It was a crystal. She told me then that she’d had a nightmare about me the evening before – and that in that nightmare, I was killed.

She went on to describe the killer, giving specific details about his age, personality, what he looked like, and how he spent his time. Then she warned me not to be alone for the next four days – not to drive by myself, or do anything out-of-the-ordinary.

All the while she was telling me this, I just kept thinking – this is my novel, right down to the four-day timeframe, right down to the crystal, the description of the killer, and the motivational pull.

A friend of hers came down the aisle a few moments later. Laurie turned to her and said, “This is the girl I told you about –the one from my dream.” If it was a lie, the friend played along, not showing even a speck of confusion.

Laurie told me that it was meant to be that we’d met and that she’d keep me in her thoughts until the fourth day passed.

It’s been eight years since that happened, and I’ve still never told her about my novel. Maybe someday I will. Maybe I’ll even forward her this link. It’s probably about time she knew she predicted the plot of a novel that’s now sold over 150,000 copies and spawned a series that’s sold over half a million books, worldwide.

I guess you could call it a coincidence. And before you ask, no, there was no way she could have read my novel beforehand. Only my thesis committee and a handful of classmates had read the book in its entirety at that point. And, remember, we had never even met before.

But I suppose it’s all up for debate. What isn’t debatable: I won’t be making anymore assumptions, nor will I be doubting Laurie Cabot’s psychic abilities ever again.

For more information on me and my work, including the BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES series, my newest spooky title, PROJECT 17, or the forthcoming chiller DEADLY LITTLE SECRET, go here:
www.lauriestolarz.com.

Also, check out some of the book trailers below.

BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qSuyeHq1RI

PROJECT 17: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nkt9p0eLDM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wakkVfTrcJg&watch_response

DEADLY LITTLE SECRET: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x63FGdfksFY

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Enchanting Review: Serafina67 *Urgently Requires Life*

SERAFINA67 *URGENTLY REQUIRES LIFE*
SUSIE DAY
Contemporary Young Adult
Scholastic Press
ISBN# 978-0-545-07330-1
235 Pages
$16.99
Hardcover--Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Told completely in blog form, SERAFINA67 *URGENTLY REQUIRES LIFE* tells the story of Serafina, a fifteen year old who’s dealing with her parents divorce, her life seemingly threatening to unravel around her, not to mention the usual teen angst and the fact that she’s suddenly attracting more people to her blog than she ever imagined, including one mysterious commenter she can’t figure out their real identity.

I have to admit it took me quite awhile to get into the book. I’m not sure whether it was the blog format or the character of Serafina herself, that there was something about her that took awhile to get used to, maybe it was hard to figure her out for the first while. But by the halfway point, I really started to enjoy the book and Serafina’s story.

Susie Day always wanted to be a writer. At the age of 8 she co-wrote a radio play entitled “Paperback Writer”, based on the Beatles’ song and inexplicably about a racehorse that really wanted to win the Grand National. Susie’s first boo, Whump!… in which Bill falls 632 miles down a manhole, won the BBC Children’s Fiction Prize. She lives in Oxford, UK.


Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Enchanting Review: Hell Week

HELL WEEK
ROSEMARY CLEMENT-MOORE
Paranormal Young Adult
Delacorte Press
ISBN#978-0-385-73414-1
327 Pages
$16.99
Hardcover—Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

In HELL WEEK, the second book in Ms. Clement-Moore’s Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series, Maggie’s now a freshman at Bedivere University and doing her best to get a job on the school paper, The Ranger Report, even though they don't usually allow freshman on the paper. Hence, The Phantom Pledge is born. The sorority rush isn’t her biggest problem, yet, it seems her sight is gaining in strength as she’s getting visions while wide awake. Now she's being recruited by the SAXis’, a bit of a mysterious sorority on campus, if she pledges, she could get her biggest story so far, that is, if her cover as the Phantom Pledge isn’t blown…

HELL WEEK is a great follow up to Prom Dates From Hell. Maggie is still the same enjoyable character, still dealing with accepting her newfound abilities and struggling to deal with the latest addition as well, the visions that aren’t just sticking to dreams anymore. Things at school are going well, except for the fact she’s pledged herself into a sorority that if she wasn’t the Phantom Pledge, wouldn’t have been her first choice. But there’s something odd, almost – about the SAXis’ and Maggie’s determined to get to the bottom of it, even if it means bringing a whole new definition to ‘Hell Week’. Maggie’s a really great character, with a Buffy-like wit that makes her fun to follow as she tries to unravel the mystery that is the SAXis and keep up with her schoolwork as her social life goes on an unexpected upturn, Justin might even have a little competition in the potential boyfriend department.

What I really loved about this book was how it drew me in right from the start and kept me turning the pages well into the early morning hours. Ms. Moore takes the story down unexpected paths that will leave the reader’s jaw dropping in shock once they reach the second half of the book. HELL WEEK is the perfect companion to the first book in the series. ‘Highway To Hell’ the third book, releases March 2009.

Rosemary Clement-Moore loves history, Jane Austen, vintage embroidery, Dance Dance Revolution, BBC America and the Sci-Fi channel. HELL WEEK is Rosemary’s second book for young readers. Her first book, Prom Dates From Hell is also available from Delacorte Press. Rosemary lives in Texas with her husband and her dogs. She loves to hear from readers. You can visit her website at www.readrosemary.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
September 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008

Enchanting Review: Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody

GOODNIGHT GOON: A PETRIFYING PARODY
MICHAEL REX
Children’s (ages 3-5)
Putnam
ISBN# 9780399245343
32 Pages
$14.99
Hardcover-Available Now

Rating: 5 Enchantments

A monster inspired take off of ‘Goodnight Moon’, GOODNIGHT GOON sees a little monster getting ready for bed and saying goodnight to all the ghoulish monsters and things in his room including a picture of Martians taking over the moon; a loud screechy bat and a hairy old werewolf. My particular favorite is the monster under the bed, who tries to sneak away on the young monster.

Filled with bright, colorful imaginative illustrations, and fun spooky text, GOODNIGHT GOON will no doubt soon become a bedtime favorite.

Michael Rex lives in the Bronx, New York.

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Enchanting Review: Ghost Files: The Haunting Truth

GHOST FILES: THE HAUNTING TRUTH
THE GHOST SOCIETY
Paranormal Young Adult
Harper Collins
ISBN# 9780061283956
36 Pages
$19.99
Hardcover--Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Told as the secret files from ‘The Ghost Society’, the GHOST FILES fills its pages profiling several different haunted locals including the Glamis Castle in the UK as well as giving information on types of ghosts and hauntings.

I really liked this book. Every page had something interesting on it, whether it was a moving part, an extra bit of info, more artwork or in the case of the one, a pull out Talking Board. I really liked the info on doppelgangers and apparitions, as well as the signs your house is haunted. The story about the haunted pirate ship was pretty interesting and one of the highlights of the book.

As the back of the book suggests, this is a great book for ages 10 and up, as there are a few spookier parts and the illustrations of a skull might be a little mature for the younger crowd. All in all, anyone interested in ghosts and the supernatural would enjoy the GHOST FILES: THE HAUNTING TRUTH.

For more info and to check out the Ghost Files video, visit:


Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
October 2008

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Enchanting Interview: Jen Calonita


3. What's your favorite part of being an author?
I LOVE CREATING NEW CHARACTERS AND WORLDS THAT READERS CAN GET CAUGHT UP IN.

4. What inspired SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE?
I WAS WORKING AT A MAGAZINE CALLED TEEN PEOPLE AND I WAS AN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR. I SPENT A LOT OF TIME INTERVIEWING TEEN STARS AND I KNEW THERE WAS A STORY THERE. FROM THERE, KAITLIN WAS BORN.

5. What do you like most about Kaitlin?
STRANGELY ENOUGH, I LOVE HOW CONFLICTED KAITLIN IS. SHE WANTS TO DO THE RIGHT THING, BUT THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAPPEN. SHE'S A PEOPLE PLEASER AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S PRETTY COMMON IN A LOT OF PEOPLE (INCLUDING MYSELF!). BEING A TEEN IS HARD AND I THINK KAITLIN'S REACTIONS REFLECT THAT.

6. What's one thing you have in common with her?
WELL, DEFINITELY THE PEOPLE PLEASING PART. SHE ALSO GETS HER LOVE OF STAR WARS, THE COLOR GREEN AND TV LIKES AND DISLIKES FROM ME!

7. When you wrote the first book, did you envision it as a series?
I KNEW WHEN I WROTE BOOK ONE THAT THERE WOULD BE A SECOND ONE, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD GO ON FROM THERE. I'M SO GLAD IT HAS BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY KAITLIN STORIES I WANT TO TELL.

8. Do you have a favorite secondary character?
THAT'S A TOUGH ONE. I LIKE SO MANY OF THEM! I LOVE NADINE BEING THE VOICE OF REASON, BUT I ALSO ENJOY WRITING SKY. THE MEAN GIRLS ARE SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE. SKY HAS SOME OF MY FAVORITE LINES.

9. What is your favorite moment of the series so far?
I'M NOT SURE I HAVE A FAVORITE, BUT FAMILY AFFAIRS HAD A LOT OF JUICY ONES. I ENJOYED MAKING KAITLIN AND SKY FRENEMIES. IT WAS FUN WATCHING THESE TWO GIRLS WHO DON'T TRUST EACH OTHER HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER.

10. What's next for Kaitlin?
PAPARAZZI PRINCESS, WHICH IS OUT IN MARCH 2009, IS ALL ABOUT KAITLIN TRYING TO WORK THROUGH A WORK CRISIS. SHE GETS A LITTLE WRAPPED UP IN THE HOLLYWOOD SCENE FOR A BIT, WHICH BRINGS ABOUT A LOT OF HILARIOUS MOMENTS.

11. What would readers be surprised to know about you?
HMM....TOUGH ONE. I LOVE SCRAPBOOKING. I CAN'T STOP DOING IT. IT'S SO TIME-CONSUMING, BUT I LOVE HOW THE ALBUMS LOOK WHEN THEY'RE COMPLETED. HOPEFULLY MY SON WILL APPRECIATE WHAT I'VE DONE SOMEDAY. IF NOT, MAYBE HIS FUTURE WIFE WILL!

Interview by Lisa
October 2008

Monday, October 6, 2008

Enchanting Review: Halloween Night

HALLOWEEN NIGHT
Written by Marjorie Dennis Murray
Illustrated by Brandon Dorman
Paranormal Children’s Book (Ages: 5 to 9)
Greenwillow
ISBN#9780061351860
40 Pages
$16.99
Hardcover—Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

What a perfect book to read on HALLOWEEN NIGHT!

Similar in style to ‘The Night Before Christmas’ HALLOWEEN NIGHT tells the story of the witch’s preparations for her Halloween party, including contributions from Ogre and Olaf, the twin ogre brothers as all the witch’s friends pitch in to help everything together before the neighborhood guests to arrive. Bright colorful illustrations accompany the entertaining text.

You can see an excerpt of this bright and entertaining children’s book here:
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061351860/Halloween_Night/excerpt.aspx

A really fun read that everyone in the family will enjoy, HALLOWEEN NIGHT is a perfect read to kick off your own Halloween!

Marjorie Dennis Murray is a teacher of young children at a preschool in Pittsburgh. She is also the author of five other books for children, including Hippo Goes Bananas!, which was an IRA Children's Choice for 2007. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Brandon Dorman is the illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Wizard, written by Jack Prelutsky. He received a degree in fine arts from Brigham Young University – Idaho. You can visit him online at http://www.brandondorman.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
August 2008

Enchanting Interview: Linda Singleton

How long have you been writing?
I have stories that I wrote when I was 8. But if you mean professionally, I started when I was 27.

Why Young Adult?
I've done middle-grade and YA. I love them both but have had more success in selling YA paranormal suspense. I prefer to write for kids because inside I feel more like a wide-eyed kid than an adult. And juvenile fiction is so amazing--I can rattle of a list of books that steal my breath and heart with wisdom, humor and wonder. Juvenile books rock!

Best part of writing Y.A?
Creating characters that I love so much they feel like part of my family. I get high on taking blank paper and watching it transform into a story. Writing is magic in action.

What's your writing process like?
Like untying tight knots...slow but eventually the tangles of story smooth out into a finished book. I love finishing a book. The End are such amazing words because they mean a beginning to stories that will reach out and touch the world.

Do you have any writing rituals?
Nope. Just Butt-in-chair (almost) every morning.

What inspired this book?
DEAD GIRL WALKING used to be called TURN LEFT AT THE MILKY WAY when I came up with the idea 20 years ago. I loved the concept of a girl waking up in the wrong body then trying to figure out who she was meant to be. But I wasn't ready to write this book back then. I needed to grow as a writer. I hope readers enjoy my directionally-challenged heroine and her misadventures with high school and heaven.

Which character is most like you or most unlike you?
Amber is the ambitious, insecure, hopeful spirit inside of me. She's sassier and braver than I am, but overall she's more like me than my other heroines. Sabine, from THE SEER series, is the least like me, which I love because that means I succeeded in writing separate from myself.

Which character gave you the toughest time to write in the book?
In the 2nd DEAD GIRL book, DEAD GIRL DANCING (March 2009), there's a hot mysterious older guy with a very dark (but poetic) side. I did a lot of rewriting until he felt right -- and with one more round of rewrites still ahead, I'm sure I'll rewrite more to get him right.

Favorite scene in the book?
The scene where Amber's dead childhood dog, Cola, does his "otherside" job of comforting an old man who is dying. I got this idea from hearing of a cat that lived in a nursing home and showed up when people were dying, sitting beside them as if comforting them on this final journey. So I created Cola, who is a Comforter and can take any shape to guide someone over to the otherside.

Who would your ideal cast be if a movie was made?
Frankly, I don't care. They could cast my characters as cartoons if that's what it would take to sell to Hollywood. I'd just LOVE to have a movie/tv show because that would boost the sales of my books so I could easily find them in any bookstore.

What's next for you?
Good question (have a crystal ball?) I really don't know for sure. I'm finishing the 3rd book in the DEAD GIRL series. My agent is shopping around a YA urban science fiction (sort of Romeo & Juliet with aliens) and my SEER fans keep asking for another book. I'd love to work on either of these projects. When I find out, I'll post it on my www.myspace.com/LindaJoySingleton blog.

Interview by Kim
September 2008

Friday, October 3, 2008

Enchanting Review: The Shape of Water

THE SHAPE OF WATER
ANNE SPOLLEN
YA contemporary
FLUX
#978-0-7387-1101-0
305 pages
$9.95
Available now

Rating: 3.5 Enchantments

Fifteen-year-old Magda’s life seems so surreal after her mother’s death. Her only outlet to her pain is setting off fires in the woods next to her Staten Island home.

After her friend Julia leaves, Magda becomes lonelier. A family of fish quarrel in her mind and she can’t get her father to talk about her mother. Then things change when her father finds a new love interest. Magda tries to find out the truth behind her family secrets and make sense of her own life. Slowly she wonders if she is slipping into the same madness that took her mother.

This lyrical tale flows like a poem in motion revealing the turmoil Magda goes through after the death of her mother. The only way she can ‘feel’ is by setting fires. Spollen does a good job of having us guess if Magda is walking on a thin line of madness. The use of elements also helps convey the dreamy state Magda walks through.

What didn’t work for me was how at times I was lost on what was happening in the story, especially when the talking imaginary fish pop up in Magda’s head.

This literary tale takes a sensitive subject and shows us how one person struggles to make sense of a loved one’s death and her own place in this world.

Anne Spollen is the mother of three children. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. The Shape of Water is her first novel for teenagers. Check out more at www.fluxnow.com


Kim
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
SEPT. 08

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Enchanting Review: Priscilla And The Great Santa Search

PRISCILLA AND THE GREAT SANTA SEARCH
NATHANIEL HOBBIE
Illustrated by Jocelyn Hobbie
Children’s (ages 4-8)
Little, Brown
ISBN# 978-0-316-113331-1
32 Pages
$16.99
Hardcover--Available October 1, 2008

Rating: 4 Enchantments

What happens when Priscilla and her best friend decide to take a trip to the North Pole to search out the real Santa after seeing so many fakes at the mall?

PRISCILLA AND THE GREAT SANTA SEARCH is a really cute story, starring Priscilla and her best friend Bettina, who find themselves on the trek to the North Pole. On the way they encounter snowball bunnies, the Abominable Snowgirl, Jan of the faraway clan who tries to warn them about the impending fifty-year storm. But when the storm gets bad and they’re forced to go home, will they find proof they actually found the real Santa or was their trip nothing more than a fun day out?

Filled with cute illustrations and an equally fun story, fans of the ‘Priscilla’ series will love this new holiday themed edition. I really thought this was a fun story about Priscilla and her best friend going off on an adventure to find the ‘real’ Santa after seeing so many fakes in the mall. I really liked characters they encounter on their journey and the illustrations really add to the story.

Jocelyn and Nathaniel Hobbie are the daughter and son of our bestselling author/artist, Holly Hobbie. Jocelyn holds a B.F.A. from RISD and works for a contemporary art dealer in New York, NY. Nathaniel Hobbie is also a fine artist who works with metal and wood. PRISCILLA AND THE GREAT SANTA SEARCH is their fourth book for children featuring the adorable Priscilla.

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
September 2008

Enchanting Review: Top 8

TOP 8
KATIE FINN
Contemporary Young Adult
Point
ISBN# 978-0-545-05362-4
244 Pages
Trade
Available—October 1st, 2008

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Sixteen year old Madison MacDonald has a pretty good life, three great best friends, a brand new boyfriend of seventeen days and the lead in the school play. But when she returns home from spring break in the Galapagos Islands, Madison is stunned to find her Friendverse page has been hacked. Even worse, not a single one of her friends believed it was a poser. Now she's newly single and desperate to find out who hates her enough to sabotage her like this. Can she solve the mystery and win back her friends and her ex, or is she destined to be the outcast for the rest of her high school life?

TOP 8 is a fun, fast paced read. I liked Madison right away, and it’s easy to become immersed in her world, as she struggles to find out who could do something like this to her, and along the way comes to some not quite pretty realizations about herself. I have to say the revelation of who actually sabotaged her and hacked her account came as a big surprise. Madison does a bit of growing up through the course of the story, as she starts to realize why her friends didn’t think someone was posing as her.

Kate Finn grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and now lives, works, and writes in New York City. TOP 8 is her first novel. Friend request her at MySpace or Facebook.

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
September 2008

Enchanting Review: Lament

LAMENT
MAGGIE STIEFVATER
YA Fantasy
Flux
ISBN# 978-0-7387-1370-0
325 pages
$9.95
Trade--Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Besides being a musical prodigal, sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan finds out she’s a cloverhand. She can see fairies.

Four leaf clovers start appearing everywhere. But even stranger is the mysterious hot guy Luke, who happens to join her in a rendition of “The Faerie Girl’s Lament” at one of her performances. Together the song sounds like an orchestra from ancient times.

Around Luke, Deirdre feels emotions that she’s never felt before. But not everyone is happy with Luke’s presence, including her own grandmother.

Things start happening that makes Deirdre wonder what Luke’s true purpose is. Can she trust him? And why does she feel she’s replaying a part in “The Faerie Girl’s Lament”?

This enchanting tale will take the reader on a trip where both mythology and the world of Faerie meet. Stiefvater does a great job showing us a colorful world where an ordinary albeit talented girl meets someone from the faerie world and falls for his charms.

I couldn’t put this book down! The writing is lyrical and moving.

Deirdre’s relationship with Luke is intense and powerful. Luke is a multidimensional character, with struggles of his own. The relationship with her family is interesting too. I also liked her friend James, whose own loyalty will be tested.

A must read for any fan of faerie tales. I can’t wait for the sequel Ballad, which will come out Fall 2009.

Maggie Stiefvater lives in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, and neurotic dog. Check out her website at http://www.maggiestiefvater.com

Kim
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
September 2008