"Shelter" by Harlan Coben

Shelter by Harlan Coben is a teen mystery that three high school students solve.  There are a lot of surprises along the way and mysterious characters. Although Mickey’s dad resigned from an organization that rescues children so his son could have a normal life through high school; Mickey finds himself drawn into it unexpectedly when he tries to save his girlfriend from harm.  This was an interesting read that moved along quickly for me but seemed a bit far-fetched and not very believable.  

(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents to KIVA this month to help the poor change their lives for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs.

"Time Cat" by Lloyd Alexander

"Time Cat" by Lloyd Alexander is a children's book, but I don't think it's one children would like very much.  It is fantasy and the cat talks a little bit but not a lot.  It's about time travel.  The cat and Jason, the boy who owns the cat, travel back in time to different countries in Jason's dream.  They have different adventures with historical events and people.  I didn't care much for this one, but if you like history and travel, you might enjoy it.
(Karen's review:  My rating 2 out of 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents to KIVA this month to help the poor change their lives for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs.

"The Off Season" by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is the second book in the Dairy Queen series about a family who owns a small Dairy farm in Wisconsin.  The story is told through the eyes of D.J., a 16-yr.-old girl who leaves the farm to be with her older brother, Win, who gets a spinal cord injury playing college football.  The story involves being friends with people no matter what others think and not letting the opinions of others stop you from living.

My favorite part of the book is when D.J. gets through to Win to make him care about getting better by letting him coach her in basketball at the gym and the rehab center.  I look forward to reading the last book of this trilogy, Front and Center.  
(Karen's review:  My rating 3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents to KIVA this month to help the poor change their lives for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs.

"Unwind" by Neal Shusterman--a Thought Provoking Adventure (UPDATED)

UPDATED 1/26/12
Unwind by Neal Shusterman, a science fiction YA book, tells the believable story of two young boys and a girl who escape from being unwound. What is unwind? You will have to read the book to find out, but trust me, it's not pretty! I was hooked on this book from page one because it made me care about the three main characters. It has lots of twists and turns and the ending is just so good! I really loved this book! It's the second best book I've read this month! I read this on Karen's recommendation and am glad I did!
(Gerard's review: My rating 5 of 5 stars)

"Unwind" by Neal Shusterman is a fascinating and disturbing YA novel about recycling body parts. This is carrying transplants to the extreme by making it legal for parents to sign a paper turning the kid over to be unwound if they are a troublesome teen, or the tenth child in the family which is a tithe, or if an orphanage/state home is too crowded. The “unwinds” are brought to a “Harvest Camp” where they cut up the teens in their “Chop Shop” and use their different body parts in other people. Most of the story is how the three teens, Connor, Risa and Lev, who were signed over for different reasons to be unwound fight for survival and work together.

This is such a good book because of the different characters and how they interact with each other. It is really interesting to see how Connor matures along the way and how Lev learns to be street smart. I absolutely loved the ending!  This is not a book I will soon forget.

(Karen's review:  My rating: 5 of 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents to KIVA this month to help the poor change their lives for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs.

"Perfect" by Ellen Hopkins

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins is about three teens--two boys and one girl, dealing with parents and a myriad of life issues. The girl is the sister of one of the boys from Ellen's previous book, "Impulse" but that is the only connection I saw. I hoped that I would enjoy this as much as "Impulse" which I thought was fantastic, but did not. Still, I did like it. I thought the boys parts were more interesting than the girls.
(Gerard's review: My rating 3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents to KIVA this month to help the poor change their lives for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs.