Not Impressed With "Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are" by Kathryn Foxfield

In Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are by Kathryn Foxfield, five teens go on a reality show.  They need to survive a night in haunted caves, but should they be afraid of each other?  This book was okay.  The storyline was pretty good, but not great.  I never connected with the characters and wasn't impressed with the ending.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars) 

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

"Road of Bones" by Christopher Golden

In Road of Bones by Christopher Golden, Felix is fascinated by a road called "The Highway of Bones" 1,200 miles near the Arctic Circle.  It is known as being a massive graveyard of prisoners of the U.S.S.R. who worked on the highway where bodies were paved over.  It is said to be haunted by their ghosts.  Felix gets the ride of his life.  Do NOT read this book at night!  This one was hard to put down!  It's a really good ghost story!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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

"Don't Tell A Soul" by Kirsten Miller

1.    

In Don’t Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller, Bram needs to go to a new place.  The trouble is that the place she decides to go to is haunted, or so they say.  Gram does not believe in ghosts.  I thought this book was very good.  I loved the story line because it kept me engaged through the whole book and Bram was a good character.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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

"Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts" by Kate Racculia is a Wild Adventure!

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia is about what happens when Vincent Pryce, a billionaire, dies suddenly.  In his obit, it states that when you come to his wake, you can play a game if you choose.  If you win, it will be well worth it!  What kind of game?  Can you play alone or must you play as a team?  Any clues?  What about the rules?  Time limit?  For the answers to these questions, you'[ll need to read the book.

This was pretty good because the characters were colorful, to say the least.  The book moved along quickly and the ending was wild but good.  I enjoyed it.

(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 18:  No one had ever asked him a question like that before.  It made him almost as uncomfortable as the house.

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

"Everfound" by Neal Shusterman (Fantastic Book 3 of the Skinjacker Series)

Everfound by Neal Shusterman is the amazing third book in the Skinjacker trilogy. Will Allie, Mikey, Nick, Jix and Jill be able to stop Mary, Milos, Rotsie and Speedo from destroying the real world? Will Nick and Mikey get out of the Wraith’s trap? Will Jix bring Mary back to the City of Souls? Will Johnnie O and Choo Choo Charlie ever be able to get off the Heidenberg? Will Allie every get back to her parents? Teaser from page 41: Allie didn’t want to believe it. “No! Milos didn’t! He couldn’t have . . he wouldn’t dare!”

Everfound is fantastic! What a great finish to a great series! I LOVED IT! This had lots of adventure as well as relationship building, humor, supernatural abilities and lots of plot twists. Certain parts were so captivating that I couldn’t turn pages fast enough and other parts were so funny, I laughed out loud! I was always eager to see what would happen next and really came to care about certain characters. At some points, I felt so bad that I had to put it down for what happened to sink in, I couldn’t believe it! This series was wild and quite a ride! Unlike Scythe and Unwind, this series mostly takes place in Everlost, a ghost world between the real world and the light at the end of the tunnel into eternity. The ending was perfect! I highly recommend this series if you want an entertaining fantasy read! Neal Shusterman is becoming my favorite YA fantasy author very quickly with his well-developed characters and extremely original plot lines.
(Karen’s review, 5 stars)

Links to my reviews of previous books in this series:  Everlost and Everwild

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!

"Everwild" by Neal Shusterman (Skinjacker series book 2)

Everwild by Neal Shusterman is the 2nd book in the Skinjacker series.  In this book, a lot of new characters are introduced.  I enjoyed Moose and Squirrel the best!  This book started out good with Allie the Outcast and Mikey as the main story line; however, then it got into a bunch of story lines and I did not know who was good and who was bad.  I thought the ending was okay.  I am in no hurry to read book 3 though!
(Gerard's review, 3.5 stars) 

Karen's review, 5 stars:
Everwild by Neal Shusterman, book 2 of the Skinjacker trilogy, is as good as the first.  Ally finds her parents in the real world and skinjacks a 7-yr-old boy that was pretty funny.  Milos leaves Ally and sides with Mary Hightower who also has Jackin Jill with her.  Mikey continues to stew about losing Ally, but is reunited with her temporarily when she is on her way to warn Nick about Mary's plans.  Poor Nick runs into a major problem of his own!  There is lots of action in this book and the plots thicken.  I loved it and laughed out loud at some parts!  Can't wait to move on to book 3 and see how it all turns out!  I highly recommend this series, but read Everlost first or this book won't make much sense to you.

Teaser from page 8:  "I'd still rather be alive," Speedo would say whenever she spoke of how blessed they were to be here in Everlost.
"If I had lived," Mary would remind him, "I'd be long dead by now . . . and you'd probably be a fat, bald accountant." 

STOP READING HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THIS BOOK--SPOILER ALERT!

IF YOU READ THIS BOOK, PERHAPS YOU COULD EXPLAIN A FEW THINGS TO ME:

• When Ally was trying to get into her parents house, why didn't she just walk through the wall or the door, staying in Everlost but being able to see them?  OR 
• Why didn't she skinjack her parents so she could talk directly to them?
• I didn't get why Mary turned back to alive just because she went into the real world.  Was it only skinjackers that could go into both worlds?  Maybe I missed something.
• Why did Nick keep getting more chocolatey?  Was it just because he was made more aware of it when other afterlights started referring to him as the Chocolate Ogre?
• I wondered why Mikey didn't go with Allie to help her save Nick.

Maybe we could get some discussion going on this in the comments?  Please let me know your thoughts on these questions.


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!

"Everlost" by Neal Shusterman (Book 1 of the Skinjacker Trilogy)

Everlost by Neal Shusterman is the entertaining first book of the Skinjacker trilogy. Nick and Allie both die in a head on collision and wind up in Everlost, a limbo between the real world and the final afterlife destination where they become ghosts called “afterlights.” They first wake up 9 months after the crash and see a kid who doesn’t know his name and is also an afterlife living in a forest. Nick and Allie name him Lief. Allie is determined to get back home and soon take the lead. Nick is just baffled and follows Allie. Lief feels protective of them and so follows after them even though he is content to stay living in the forest. He tried talking them into staying with him, but they didn’t want to. Everlost is a weird place—Afterlights who live there do not need to sleep, can’t feel pain, and are invisible to those in the real world. There are “dead spots” that are safe for them to sit or stand still on but if they get off, the must keep moving or they will sink into the ground towards the center of the earth! There is much to learn about Everlost!

Teaser from page 18:  Nick kept rubbing his face.  "This chocolate--I can't get it off my face.  It's kind of tattooed there."  "It is," Lief said.  "It's how you died."

This got my attention right from the start and kept my interest with lots of surprises along the way. The world building is very well done. This was a very unique read for me, haven’t read anything like this before so I enjoyed it very much. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next! I liked the action, adventure, humor and learning about the world of Everlost. I liked how the relationship between Mary, the Queen of Snots, and Nick developed into something unexpected. This has lots of interesting characters: the McGill, the Haunted, the bullies, Vari, and Pinhead. There actually were four main characters in this book: Allie, Nick, Mary and The McGill. This is a good read for fantasy lovers!
(Karen’s review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 4 stars:
Nick and Allie are in a limbo land called Everlost in this Neal Shusterman YA fantasy.  Their souls are there but with bodies of a sort too.  Everlost is run by a woman named Mary who takes care of children who wind up at her home.  There is a monster called "the McGill" who you do not want to mess with!  Allie wants no part of this and comes up with a plan to get out, but can she?  

This book was pretty good.  It started off slow for me, but I enjoyed the last part of the book much better.  Book 2 should be good!


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!

"The Barter" by Siobhan Adcock

The Barter by Siobhan Adcock tells the story of two women—Bridget and Rebecca. Bridget’s story is told in modern times while Rebecca’s story is set in 1902. They both have something in common. To find out what that is, you will have to read the book. I really loved Bridget’s story. It was so good and funny a lot of the time. Rebecca’s story I didn’t like as much, but it did get better at the end. On the strength of Bridget’s story, I give this book 4 stars. Well worth reading.
(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!

"A Sudden Light" by Garth Stein gets Exciting

A Sudden Light by Garth Stein is told by a 14-yr- old boy named Trevor and what a story he has to tell!  He comes to his family's mansion for the first time to help his father to sell the house and property because they need money.  But, there are plenty of secrets in that house and things do not go as planned.

This is a real good story for around Halloween.  I would have liked more action, but it does pick up near the end and gets really exciting!  Well worth your time.
(Gerard's review, 4.5 stars)

We both also enjoyed Garth Stein's other book, The Art of Racing in the Rain.

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!

"I Remember You" by Yrsa Sigurdardouir

In I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardouir you get two stories that are really good!  The first story is three friends go to a remote island to fix up a house.  The second story is about a detective who is haunted by his missing son.  This book goes back and forth between the two.  I really enjoyed it a lot!  It is a real page turner!
(Gerard's review, 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!

Scariest Books We Ever Read

image:  Amazon.com

The scariest book I  (Karen) ever read was my first ghost story in 2003, Comes the Blind Fury by John Saul. A girl, Amanda, was blind and was forced of a cliff, died and now haunts other 12-year-old girls. Michelle, an adopted girl, moved from Boston to Paradise Point and found an old doll in her house that she name Amanda. Amanda’s ghost came to visit her and they became friends. When someone teased Michelle, the ghost would come and arrange some sort of “accident” so they would die. Only mother figured something was very wrong but father ignored everything connected with Michelle once Jennifer was born.

Gerard's was the Tommyknockers by Stephen King.  Here is an excerpt from the dust cover (558 pages):

Late last night and the night before,
Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers,
knocking at the door.
I want to go out, don't know if I can,
'cause I'm so afraid
of the Tommyknocker man.

It begins with nothing more frightening than a nursery rhyme; yet in Stephen King's hands it becomes an unforgettable parable of dread, a threat from an unimaginable darkness that drags the practical inhabitants of a New England village into a hell worse than their own most horrible nightmares...and yours.

It begins with Bobbi's discovery of the ship in the earth, a ship buried for millions of years, but still vibrating faintly, still humming with some sort of life...faint...weak...but still better left alone.

The townspeople of Haven are "becoming"--being welded into one organic, homicidal, and fearsomely brilliant entity in fatal thrall to the Tommyknockers.

In this riveting, nightmarish story, Stephen King has given us his tautest, most terrifying novel to date.  And the next time someone raps at your door, you may want to keep the chain on.  It just might be the Tommyknocker Man.

Have you these? What did you think of them? What was the scariest book you ever read?

"Help for the Haunted" by John Searles

Help for the Haunted by John Searles is about a family that consists of a mom, dad and two girls.  The one daughter goes against what their parents are teaching as they do a show on the road.  She leaves, but one night she calls and tells them to come to the church to talk.  They go and bring the other daughter along but she waits in the car.  Mom and dad go into the church but don't come out.  They are found dead.  The rest of the book tells what led up to that night, who killed the parents and what becomes of the daughters.  It's pretty good.
(Gerard's review, 4.5 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!

"Joyland" by Stephen King

Joyland by Stephen King is a story about a young man who signs on to work at an amusement park.  He finds that not only are the rides exciting, but the people who he has contact with are also.  I enjoyed this book very much!  It is a pretty quick read and the action keeps moving.  The ending has a couple of twists and I liked how it all turned out!
(Gerard's review, 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!

"The Evil Inside" by Heather Graham

The Evil Inside by Heather Graham is a good story about a young boy accused of killing people with an axe.  It happened near Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts so there is also a tie-in with witches.  There is also a pretty good "wow" factor in this.  I enjoyed the audio book.  It's well worth your time to read this or hear it.
(Gerard's review, 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!

"The Beginner's Goodbye" by Anne Tyler

The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler is a story about a man who has his wife die when a tree falls on their house. He works in the family vanity publishing business, turning out issues to guide beginners on various stuff. I thought this was going to be so much better than it is. It's okay but nothing great, read it if you want. At least it's a quick read.
(Gerard's review, 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!

"Betrayal-Haunting Emma Book 2" by Lee Nichols

image source:  Amazon--read on Kindle

Betrayal by Lee Nichols continues from where Deception left off and is just as good, if not even better!  There is a lot of action fighting ghosts in this book and also her love life with Bennett heats up.  Her friendships at school fall apart but then when she finally tells the truth about Coby, they are restored.  There is a lot of ghost fighting action in this book and Simon and Lukas are assigned by the Knell to help Emma.  The fun and humor continue with Coby in ghost form continuing to hang out with his old friends and Emma.  When Emma takes on Neoss at the Knell, she is shocked to find out who it is that betrayed her. 

Betrayal is a quick read because it keeps building suspense and was hard to put down.  It’s part contemporary fiction and part fantasy.  I think Bennett should stop taking the drug and just let Emma take all his power which would make her dispelling power stronger and allow them to be together.  I love the dialog and look forward to reading the third book in this Haunting Emma series, “Surrender.”  I recommend this series if you like humorous fantasy—it’s not really spooky even though there are a lot of ghosts and some time travel.

(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 for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during May to Joni and Friends for Camp Scholarships for families with special needs children.

"Deception" by Lee Nichols

Deception by Lee Nichols is about Emma,a 17-yr.-old, girl who finds herself mixed up in a world of ghosts when her brother and parents disappear and Bennett, her brother’s friend takes her to live with him in Boston as her guardian!  He presented papers that were notarized that he was her guardian to get her away from social services.  Emma thinks she is going crazy when she sees dead people but soon discovers she is a “ghostkeeper” who not only sees ghosts but can control them!  Both Emma and I were surprised at how many people in Emma’s life also were ghostkeepers, but she had more power than they did. 

I liked the sarcasm and humor that was included in this book and also the main character, Emma, is very likable. This book has romance, mystery, suspense and a lot of paranormal things going on.  I normally do not read paranormal books so can’t really compare this with others in that category.  It certainly was a fun, quick read with lots of humor and an interesting story line which is continued in the sequel—Betrayal (reading on Kindle).

(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 for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during May to Joni and Friends for Camp Scholarships for families with special needs children.

"Duma Key" by Stephen King

Duma Key takes awhile to really get going, but once it does, watch out!!  It is about Edgar who gets in a terrible accident which causes him lose his right arm and scrambles his mind.  He is filled with rage and begins rehab and resumes painting, something that once have him pleasure.  It's about loyalty and compassion  Very interesting characters and a good story with paranormal activity.  I've read better by him, but well worth your time.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Coral" Moon by Brandilyn Collins

Coral Moon by Brandilyn Collins is a murder mystery that involves evil spiritual forces and that was a hard one to figure out. It is certainly unusual and spooky. It deals with ghosts, curses, demons and seances. I didn't like the creepiness of this one but it kept my interest to the end.  This is the second book in the Kenner Lake series and the one I liked the least.
(Karen's review April 2009)

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?