(
) I picked up this book with no clue that it had a Christian-based plot. But despite this religious distraction, the story was great!
Imagine waking up one day and being one of the very few people still in existence. This focuses on a small group of individuals who find each other in this exact situation. And no, this isn't one of those 'return of the Christ' or 'judgment day' novels; though it could be seen as similar. The group travels while looking for others in the destitute area. They are haunted and sometimes attacked by eerie gray creatures. They are seeing crazy, disturbing images of their loved ones and redressed recollections of their past. The hallucinations are unpredictable and impossible to differentiate from reality. One by one, each of the members in the group seem to be 'taken' by the creatures. Though one character, Conner, is given a chance to see the truth behind the situation and perhaps escape it.
It's full of suspense and very unpredictable! A good read for anyone who enjoys thrill novels and doesn't mind a bit of the science-fiction feel.
(
) This reminds me a lot of
Devil on my Heels by Joyce McDonald. It's set in the same time period and both main conflicts involve local Ku Klux Klan activity. It also helps that the books' covers are similar in style.
The story here is especially interesting though. The main character and narrator is a young teen girl named Jessilyn. Her best friend is Gemma, a black girl that lives on Jessilyn's family's land with her parents. Her parents are loyal workers for Jessilyn's family, but one stormy night - tragedy strikes! Gemma's house is set ablaze by the lightening, and neither of her parents make it out alive. Jessilyn's family takes Gemma in as a daughter, but this is frowned upon by the town due to the racist ideology of the time. Worse still, the family catches the attention of the Ku Klux Klan. Everyone is now in danger, especially Jessilyn and Gemma.
It's an intriguing tale, and I especiallylike how the love interest was kept to the side of the main story. It kept the reader's focus where it needed to be, and used romance as more of a character development tool. The whole thing was skillfully written and paints a clear though unfortunate picture of our country's past.
(
) This is a large novel, but it's worth it...
This book intertwines the lives of many very different individuals. There's a young, intelligent mother who strips for a living, and her large, caring landlord who babysits the daughter out of loneliness. There's a father with a restraining order given by his hurt wife, and his mother who conceived him from sexual assault. Also, there's a foreigner trained in strict religious martyrdom. There's drama, character development, and various stories that all lead up to the 9-11 attacks.
It's a great read, and really makes you feel like you're inside the head of, and can understand the motivations of, these different individuals.
(
) A suspenseful story for sure, and with a twist ending packaged in. This tale combines love, passion, crime, and mystery all in one. The first person narration that is switched between different characters makes it all the more interesting.
So the plot is: two near-middle-aged individuals working in relation to law enforcement are engaged to be married. One is caught in the middle of an odd hostage bank robbery. Here, the robbers aren't of your average intelligence, and are not predictable even to the professionals. Soon there are casualties, and they learn of explosives being involved. The engaged woman trades herself for her fiance in the hostage negotiations in order to try and save his life.
The end is not what you'd expect, and not exactly hope-filled. But it's not a horrendously depressing either. A very "in between" conclusion. This book is good for thrill-readers, not so good for those who put more value on a lesson, unique idea, or main point being communicated across their reading.
(
) This story explores the horrendous underground practice of sex trafficking. It brings together two girls from completely different worlds as they find themselves stuck and enslaved to the brutal men running the show.
Hope is a girl from a very wealthy, prominent family. Oksana is from a very poor section of Russia, and her mother is dead. Oksana is tricked into and then trapped in the prostitution trade. During 'business' travels, Hope tries to help Oksana escape, but only manages to get herself kidnapped by the trade men too.
The author avoids getting too much into the details of the horrible activities that go on in trafficking, but she does spread awareness and shed truth about its horrific nature. The narrative itself is a little unrealistic because Hope is eventually able to get back to her family with nothing more than mental trauma and some scratches, but I suppose that's typical of a young adult book.
(
) The main character in this book is intense, almost as intense as the conclusion to this story.
Winter, our main girl, drops out of school and heads back to the house she inherited after both her parents died when she was young. She finds the workers she paid to keep the place up had let it fall to shambles, sold its furniture, and cut and hustled the lumber in the surrounding woodlands.
She's strong enough to not stand for it, unlike her family's financial handler. This was no problem for her compared to the struggle to find out the mystery behind her parents' death. There were roadblocks everywhere, her own Great-aunt refused to see her. But Winter is not the type of girl to let things slide, or accept no for an answer. She eventually gets her answer, and is more shocked than anyone else.
Alright read. Unexpected and suspenseful. Original and provoking. However, not awe-inspiring.
(
) Heavy, crazy story. This is not for the light reader. The book looks deep into depression. Also, it explores the many consequences that result from our choices. Plus, the story gives more perspective into individuals with mental difficulties.
The speaker, Jersey, is a boy who is brain damaged from a suicide attempt. He's lost control of the left side of his body and can no longer speak or think normally. He's covered in scars and blind out of one eye. He can't stop himself from spouting random nonsense words.
The story starts when he is let out of the treatment center. He's welcomed by bickering parents and lots of enemies. The only person he can talk to is an older woman that used to care for his ex-best friend next door. The worst part is that Jersey can't remember the year leading up to his suicide, so he doesn't know why or how he did it. And he has no clue why everyone hates him. Now, he's just finding out how his suicide attempt hurt the people around him.
His life story is basically that he was a popular, selfish, teen jock turned into an accidentally brain-damaged freakazoid. Learning and growing ensues.
Awesome story with great insight.
(
) At first read, I was almost under the assumption that this was going to be an A+ book. But then the story became more and more illogical. The ending wasn't even a symbolic conclusion, to say the least.
Basically, the story is told through a very troubled teen boy. He's living with his grandparents and attending some kind of reform school for his odd behaviors; his parents died in an accident/suicide. He is gifted in woodwork but continually proclaims he was meant to be a pilot.
The story is hard to follow because his dialogue is so scattered, but its basically follows that more than a couple mystery "suicides" occur in their small town. The catch is that the main character's wood creations just 'shows up' on the site of each death scene. This leaves him with feelings of confusion, guilt, sorrow, and loneliness. It might sound intriguing, but there is no real result or finish the story - so it leaves you in peril with no hints or other story to follow after.
(
) I picked up this book with no clue that it had a Christian-based plot. But despite this religious distraction, the story was great!
