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Chrissy (8 KP) rated Keeper in Books

Jan 25, 2018

Keeper

Kim Chance | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.5

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

How would you react if you went from being a normal high school kid with a plan for your future to seeing ghosts, finding out the paranormal is real, and everything you thought you knew about your family was wrong? These are the challenges Lainey faces in this book.

Lainey is almost 17. She is a straight A student, with a plan for her life. Then she starts seeing a ghost, which sets events into motion. With her best friend, and a cute guy she just met to help her figure out what's going on. Then the help of her Uncle and his girlfriend Lainey tackles struggles bigger than any high schooler should have to handle.

This book was amazing. It had me on the edge of my seat, grinning from ear to ear and crying at times. I would highly recommend it. With a few minor kissing scenes and a couple of violent scenes I would say it is still appropriate for kids over the age of 13.

Kudos

Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Bird Eater in Books

Mar 15, 2018

I honestly wasn't looking to pick up another horror novel so soon after the last one, but seeing the glowing write-up on Amazon I couldn't resist. I have to agree with their editor and say it was pretty damn scary. The novel uses many familiar horror tropes in a story about a man returning to his possibly haunted childhood home after having had a rather traumatic experience. Is he seeing ghosts or is his grief making him insane? Not exactly a new idea, but it is executed very well, with engaging characters and frequently suspenseful scenarios. What sells the whole thing the most for me is the genuinely frightening "ghost". I can honestly say that for 2 consecutive nights, when I got out of bed to use the restroom, I was suddenly filled with trepidation about venturing into the dark hallway for fear it might be lurking in the shadows. And if that's not the sign of a successful horror story, then I don't know what is.

Kudos

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Fire in Frost (Crystal Frost, #1) in Books

Mar 20, 2020 (Updated Mar 20, 2020)

Fire in Frost (Crystal Frost, #1)

Alicia Rades | 2015 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)

9.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

"There's a fire growing inside of me. It's not the harmful kind that can kill a girl like Olivia. It's the kind that can save her."

CRYSTAL FROST tells herself she isn't crazy, but sane people don't see ghosts. As her psychic abilities manifest, Crystal discovers she can see into the future, witness the past, and speak with the dead. Add blackmail to the list of things she never thought would happen to her, and you basically have her sophomore year covered. After spotting her first ghost, secrets from her family, friends, and classmates begin to surface. Uncovering secrets can be dangerous, but giving up means someone will get hurt. Again.

What was refreshing with this YA was there was no teenage sexual tension drama!! It was a really well written story about a young girl discovering her special gift. It also raised awareness for domestic violence and that it's not acceptable at any age, Alicia Rades did this without coming across as preachy like some authors can. I was impressed with her style and looking forward to reading more by her.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Break of Dark in Books

Aug 2, 2019

Break of Dark

Robert Westall | 1982 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy

9.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

I must have been 12 or 13 when I first read this, and back then part of the fun came from the sense that these actually felt like adult stories, for all the book is advertised as being basically YA fiction: quite apart from the substantial quantities of profanity and sex, many the characters aren't typical YA identification figures: middle-aged seaside policemen, earnest young vicars, suburban couples, and so on. These are still hugely readable and satisfying stories even now many decades later.

But what are they about? Well, there are two stories of ghosts (a haunted Wellington bomber during the second world war, and a rather stranger tale of an unwitting medium), two of very atypical alien visitations (a cautionary tale of a young hitch-hiker, and a blackly comic one concerning a spate of peculiar crimes in a small resort town), and one of an inner-city vicar who stumbles onto something very creepy in the crypt of his church. All of them are engagingly and skilfully written, and immaculately paced. Good reads for all ages.