The Darkness Rises by Stacy Stokes

Posted on by lynndellwatson

What do you do when you see someone’s fatal future?

17yo Whitney sees a dark cloud forming over people who are in danger and can be helped by her. Her grandmother has the same ability and gave Whitney three rules to follow; rules that are meant to keep Whitney safe and free from the guilt of saving someone who ends up harming others. This happened last year when she saved Dwight from jumping off a building. He then instigated a school shooting. Whitney blames herself for everything that Dwight did. Someone else blames her too and when the harassment starts, it’s only the beginning of the vengeance to come.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the character development and the mystery surrounding the main character. The relationships are fleshed out well. I appreciate the many resources the author included at the end of the book for bullying, child trauma, suicide prevention, mental health, mental illness, and grief. The author’s note is exceptional as a call for all of us to let our voices be heard and vote for leaders that we believe reflect our values and ambitions for our country and communities. I also appreciate the content warning at the beginning of the book.
Mature content: PG-13 for underage drinking.
Language: R for 79 swears and 13 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for mention of school shooting.
Ethnicity: predominantly white.

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Alternating timelines in this engrossing mystery!
15yo Sana moves into a decrepit large house in Africa with her father. The other residents say it’s haunted and this makes Sana curious. She asks the other residents questions about the house and its past and she explores everything and every place in the house. In the attic, Sana discovers a diary and she reads until the ending. What she finds, haunts her and she hopes there’s more of the story to unravel.

Likes/dislikes: The book is slow and builds the setting and characters until the second half when the mystery piqued my interest and grabbed my attention. I found it fascinating that Sana was a conjoined twin but she’s the only one who survived and now Sana sees and hears her dead sister. I loved discovering the background of the haunted home that is the setting for this story.
Mature Content: G for kissing.
Language: PG-13 for 14 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Indian and African with some white.

Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Publication date August 29, 2023

18 year-old Elwood runs away when he overhears his father talking about sacrificing him for the church he resides over in the Garden of Adam Community, located in the Upper Peninsula. He’s been told throughout his entire life that he’s a burden. He’s been punished and unloved by his parents. 18 year-old Wil is sure that her mother was sacrificed by the church and Elwood’s father. Wil and Elwood help each other hide from danger, investigate the community’s weird happenings, and try to find out what happened to Wil’s mother. Their lives will be thrown into chaos before it’s over.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the creepy aspect of Elwood’s family and his father’s effect on the community. The prose represents beauty and pain, hurt and happiness, perfectly. The story was too quick to achieve well developed characters.
Mature content: PG-13 for Underage drinking and smoking, passionate undescribed kissing (PG)
Language: R for 79 swears and 6 f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for Bloody sacrificing of a rabbit, sacrificing son by bleeding him to death, father plunges knife into son’s chest.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

The Wolves are Watching by Natalie Lund

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Mystery and folklore!

Mystery and folklore!
Luce’s cousin goes missing from her room one evening and it’s devastating her family. Luce, 15, had seen yellow eyes in the woods behind her house in Picnic, Illinois for a few nights before her cousin Madison went missing and she thinks the eyes might be a clue to finding her. Luce’s and Anders’ teacher assigns a historical research paper and Luce chooses to research the local history of missing girls. A girl has gone missing every nineteen years and she returns a few days later but the mother always claims that the returning girl is not her daughter. When Madison returns, her mother and Luce know that it’s not really her and she’s determined to find the real Madison despite the dangers it puts Luce in.

Likes/dislikes: The story started out simplistically but grew with more depth. I like the paranormal mystery behind the missing girls. Andres is an endearing character. I appreciate the message of independence and the message that you also need others in your life.
Mature content: PG for a gentle kiss and a brief kiss.
Language: R for 17 swears and 1 f-bomb.
Violence: PG-13 for child abduction.
Ethnicity: Predominantly white.

I Guess I Live Here Now by Claire Ahn

Posted on by lynndellwatson
A well-written and descriptive realistic fiction story that makes me want to visit Korea! 4 stars!

Melody is caught by a police officer smoking her first joint with her friend Sophie. They both managed one cough-inducing puff. The officer takes them both home, giving them a warning to not do it again. The next day she discovers that her parents have decided that they all need to be together so she’s moving with her mom to Korea and away from New York City. The two of them have lived in a tiny New York City apartment for most of Melody’s life while her father has worked in Korea and traveled back and forth to visit them. Melody and her mom have a close relationship but everything in Melody’s life changes once they’re in Korea. Her father is strict and gruff, her grandparents seem cold, distant and uncaring. She does make some friends and her Dad encourages socializing, which helps ease the family tensions and the homework stress. Her relationship with Sophie is strained too and Melody wants to figure out how to pursue her dream of becoming an interior designer while mending relationships with the people she cares about and navigating two countries as her home. A well-written and descriptive realistic fiction story that makes me want to visit Korea! 4 stars!

Language: 24 swears, including 1 f-bomb
Mature content: PG-13-kissing; underage smoking of marijuana
Violence: PG-arguing
Ethnicity: Korean, Ethiopian, American and many languages, such as French, spoken and ethnicities represented in Korea when Melody goes to a nightclub.
Likes/dislikes: I love the descriptions of each setting the main character is in. I also like the relevance of family contention and teen angst that takes place as Melody’s father tries to completely control her and she discovers her mother keeping secrets. She sees her grandfather treat her father the same way her father treats her and she wonders why he does that to her when he seems to dislike being treated like that. Great insight into Korean culture through Melody’s experiences as she visits places and tries new foods.