Torn by Erica O'Rourke

So, this is a supernatural romance/adventure.  Its hard not to compare, just a little, to Twilight.  A twit of a girl with two love interests, but Mo turns out not to be as light weight as Bella.  I would never have made it through this book otherwise.  Mo's best friend is killed by really scary other world beings and Mo was witness.  She has vowed to avenge her friend's death even before she really knows what is going on.  Luc eventually fills her in reluctantly as she gets in the way of  supernatural activity that is spilling over into the flat world.  Flat meaning without magic.  There is a powerful ring involved and a destiny to be a vessel to stop a torrent of evil.  It had been thought that Verity would be the vessel to stop the evil torrent.  With her gone it must be stopped some other way and that turns out to involve Mo and nearly cost her her life.  She is a very determined, self sacrificing person which makes her likeable for me.  Luc is similarly likeable and they both mature considerably on the way to the final pages.  Collin, the other guy is never as strong a character as Luc and Mo.  There is room for a sequel here.There is a discussion guide at the end of this book that bring out some issues to think about.  Its a good idea to read these issues even if you don't discuss with anyone.  JDW 12/13

Draw the Dark - Ilsa J. Bick

The town of Winter, Wisconsin has a dark past, one that people have forgotten. Back in 1945 the town served as a place where German prisoners of war were held. They were cheap labor and helped run the factory in town. At one point all of the Jewish people there left the town, and no one knows why. Fast forward to 2011 where Christian Cage, nephew of the town sheriff, goes and spray paints the side of an old barn. The owner presses charges, and Christian is sentenced to community service at the local nursing home. It is there he meets the last surviving Jew from the World War Two era. After seeing David Witek, Christian begins to have strange visions, when he dreams and draws, about the town of Winter back in 1945 from David's point of view. From these visions of the past Christian is able to piece together what really happened back in 1945, and uncover the mysterious and forgotten past of Winter, Wisconsin.

This book was good, a bit scary, and an edge of your seat read. The plot moved forward really well, and there was no sluggish or boring parts to it. It was a whole lot better than the other small town with a secret book, Cryer's Cross, I read back in May.

T.B. 7/2/11

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

They say that every small town has it's secrets, and Cryer's Cross, Montana, is no exception. Toward the end of the school year Tiffany Quinn disappears. Most of the town helps in searching for her, and after five days they stop searching not finding her. The new school year begins with two new kids from Arizona joining the school. Kendall tries to make friends with Jacian, but he's being a difficult person to become friends with. Marlena on the other hand is very friendly, and makes friends with Kendall easily. A few weeks later her best friend since birth, Nico, goes missing. The police question Kendall implying she had something to do with his disappearance. They search for him, but do not find any trace of him besides his abandoned car. As the weeks go by Kendall keeps hearing Nico's voice coming from his old desk. Kendall thinks she's going crazy, but she thinks that if she listens to the voice she might find Nico.

Overall, I was disappointed with the book, and I don't say that often. The book had a good premise, and as I was reading everything seemed to drift farther away from the plot. After Nico went missing the author had Kendall yearning for his safe return for most of the novel. It was only toward the end that something actually happened. The story wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be.

T.B. 5/22/11

Hex Hall by Hawkins

This is a fun, sometimes creepy supernatural mystery. It takes place in Hecate Hall which is a boarding/reform school for kids over aged 12 with extraordinary powers. Here there are fairies, shapeshifters, dark and white witches, vampires and the like. All have used their powers with spectacular results in front of folks without special powers. These displays draw hunters of supernatural beings out and cause slaughters. So the kids are taken to this school and kept safe by various magics until they are adults. Sophie didn't know she had such powers. She didn't know her father was a powerful member of the school's board. Then she tries a disastrous love spell on her friend which gets her sent away, fast. A murder has just taken place at the school. A vampire is blamed though she is innocent. Sophie becomes involved in a round about way. The ghost of her grandmother appears to her and begins to teach her magic saying Sophie's powers are extremely great, greater than any of those of the other witches in the school. Sophie has detention with a hunk of a young man after an altercation in front of a teacher. He eventually turns out not to be who people think him to be. There are two more attempted murders and another successful one until Sophie figures out who the bad guy is and why. She also finds out what her true powers are and those of the father she has never met. I think Ally Carter's fans would like this one. I enjoyed the humor in it and in Carter's books. jdw 8/3/10