"Survive the Night" by Danielle Vega

Survive the Night by Danielle Vega is a YA novel that centers on a young girl named Casey.  Just out of rehab, she goes to a sleepover with her friends from the soccer team.  Once there she blows it off to go to hang out with a group of girls that have a different life style than her soccer friends.

This book goes very fast and kept me interested.  I thought the characters were realistic but the ending was not all that great.  Overall, I liked it and thought it was pretty good.

Here's a teaser from page 111:

"Is that what she's telling you?  That you don't have a problem?"

(Gerard's review, 4 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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Vicious" by V. E. Schwab - We had a Love/Hate Feeling About This One! (UPDATED)

Vicious by V. E. Schwab centers on Victor and Eli.  When their research moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong!  The first part of the book concentrates on Victor and the second part on Eli.  This book goes back and forth in time, leading up to a fantastic ending.

This is some book!  I enjoyed it right from page 1 and thought the characters were very interesting.  Here is a teaser I chose from it:

He hardly felt the cold through his coat.  He was too busy trying to picture what Eli's face would look like when he received their message.  [from p. 26]

Gerard's review, 8/21/15, 5++ stars)


Here is the spoiler-free review we saw on YouTube that convinced Karen to read the book too:


Karen's review (8/28/15):
I started Vicious by V. E. Schwab expecting it to be great based on this video and my husband's recommendation; however, I only read a little over half and gave up on it.  I didn't care for it at all.  I didn't like either of the main characters and thought the whole premise was ridiculous.  It is like a contemporary fantasy or science fiction, not sure which.  In my opinion, it's like the old Twilight Zone TV show!  The writing really annoyed me a lot too because it kept jumping all over the place.  It's in the present, then 10 years ago, last night, 3 nights ago, back to the present, 10 years ago through the whole book.  It only gets 1 star from me.  

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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"A Tail of Hope's Faith by Diane Weinmann (Animal Communicator)

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I met the author at a fund-raiser for Parma Animal Shelter and was curious when I found out she actually could get animals to tell her their thoughts.  I asked her some questions because I think it would be awesome to actually hear what animals are thinking and I'd love for Abby to tell us about her past before we got her. I talk to my pets all the time and can pretty much figure out what they're thinking at certain times; however, I've never actually heard them speak to me.   She told me to read her book about the dog named Hope so I did.

A Tale of Hope’s Faith is about Diane Weinmann, an animal communicator, and her experience with one particular dog named Hope. Hope has cancer and Diane uses holistic alternative medicine to help the dog have less pain and a better quality of life. Then, it progresses to reincarnation after the dog finally has to be euthanized. 

It is an amazing story, but one I have a very hard time believing. It seemed like hocus-pocus new age stuff to me for the most part and the dog really didn’t get better.  I found myself plowing through it.  

Diane says she is psychic and communicates telepathically with animals.  I guess I'm really not sure what to make of this because she says she's Catholic and before communicating or trying to heal animals, she prays to her spirit guides, St. Francis, and Jesus.   

What do you think about this?  Would you go to alternative medicine if your pet was ill?

(Karen's review, 2 stars--I expected more conversations with the dog and not so much detail about the different alternative healing methods)

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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

A Separate Peace by John Knowles is the story of two roommates at a boys boarding school in New Hampshire during World War II. It’s about their rivalry, friendship, and how the boys try to stay separate from the war. Gene, the introverted intellectual who tells the story is jealous of his roommate, Phineas (Finny), a natural athlete who is outgoing and a natural leader but a poor student.

I read this book a long time ago for school and decided to re-read it now because I remember liking it. I especially liked the parts with Finny and enjoyed it again. It has some fun parts, but mostly is sad, especially what happens to Phineas.
 (Karen's review, 4 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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

We Both Liked "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier (Updated)

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier is a sad story about an all-boy Catholic high school that has a “secret” organization called the Vigils who actually rule the school while the teachers look the other way. Archie is a master con who manipulates not only students, but also the teachers. He is the one who assigns tasks to students he chooses. When Jerry gets mixed up with the Vigils, his “assignment” gets out of hand and he realizes too late the participation in the chocolate sale for the school really wasn’t voluntary after all. Can Jerry really go against the Vigils and survive?

This is a quick YA read that I liked because of all the group dynamics involved. It is not only about bullying, but also about manipulation and being true to oneself. This is a powerful book that shows how devastating peer pressure can be. What started as an innocent prank mushroomed into much, much more! I plan to read more books by this author. The sequel is Beyond the Chocolate War.
(Karen's review, 8/20/15, 5 stars)


The Chocolate War by Robert Comier is about an all-boys Catholic school that sells chocolate bars as a fund raiser.   It is a tradition, but this year one boy refuses to do it!  Will this catch on with the other boys?  What will the consequences be for his refusal?

I lived this book in real life so it brought back lots of memories for me.  The author is spot on with his telling of it.  The characters were brought out very well and I enjoyed it.  It is a quick read that you can do in a day or two at the most.
(Gerard's review 8/10/15, 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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!