Always Watching

 

Author: Brandilyn and Amberly Collins

Genre: Young Adult/Mystery/Christian

Series: The Rayne Tour Series #1

This daughter of a rock star has it all—until murder crashes her world. The exciting and suspenseful Rayne Tour series features sixteen-year-old Shaley O’Connor, on tour with her mother’s popular band. Shaley lives in a whirlwind of backstage secrets, hotels, and limos. With beauty and fame of her own, Shaley wants for nothing … except the one thing she can’t have. During a concert, sixteen-year-old Shaley O’Connor stumbles upon the body of a friend backstage. Is Tom Hutchens’ death connected to her? Frightening messages arrive. Paparazzi stalk Shaley. Her private nightmare is displayed for all to see. Where is God at a time like this? As the clock runs out, Shaley must find Tom’s killer—before he strikes again.

Positive Content: Shaley and her Mom really love each other, though they can be a little out of touch. Most of the band members are a caring, tightly-knit group who watch out for each other. One of the band members talks to Shaley about her faith in God, and Shaley begins to wonder about him, too. People go through a lot to make sure Shaley and the other tour members are safe. There is no language, and no sexual content save one mention of an older guy sending somewhat innapropriate pictures of himself to Shaley.

Negative Content: Some violence (naturally, since this is a murder mystery). Several people are shot; one through the eye. Creepy messages are sent to Shaley. A few short chapters in the book are from the killer’s point of view, including a memory of when he was five and let his father bleed to death. The killer has somewhat of a ‘God complex’ going. Shaley can be very self-absorbed at times, though she’s also easy to sympathize with.

Summary: This was surprisingly readable and more intriguing than I had expected. The story is fast-paced, well-written and exciting. I didn’t want to put it down. It ends on a cliffhanger – ARGH! -so I’ll have to order the next one from the library. The conversations about God and Christianity seem kind of ‘stuck into’ the book; awkward and a little forced, but not overbearing. A good pick for someone looking for a clean, YA mystery.

Ages: 15+

4 out of 5 stars

 

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Series: None

Genre: Young Adult/Futuristic/Mystery/Romance

Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox awakens after more than a year in a coma to find herself in a life—and a body—that she doesn’t quite recognize. Her parents tell her that she’s been in an accident, but much of her past identity and current situation remain a mystery to her: Why has her family abruptly moved from Boston to California, leaving all of her personal belongings behind? Why does her grandmother react to her with such antipathy? Why have her parents instructed her to make sure not to tell anyone about the circumstances of their move? And why can Jenna recite whole passages of Thoreau’s Walden, but remember next to nothing of her own past? As she watches family videos of her childhood, strange memories begin to surface, and she slowly realizes that a terrible secret is being kept from her.

Positive Content: Jenna’s parents love her a lot, enough to go to great lengths (which I can’t divulge without ruining the plot) to keep her safe. Jenna tries to be a good daughter, though she can’t really remember anything about who she was before. She hopes she was a nice person. She and several of her friends protect and defend each other. One of Jenna’s friends who is chronically ill is saved, even though the procedure is illegal.

Negative Content: There are a couple instances of kissing, with mention of tongue. One of her friends calls someone a crude word. Jenna, not knowing what it means, then repeats it to her grandmother, to others’ shock and horror. This word is repeated a total of nine times. There are eleven instances of swearing. A boy grabs Jenna and tries to force her to come with him.  She then grabs him in the groin to make him stop (she is saved bya  friend). A car accident is somewhat described. Saving humans ‘not meant to be saved’ is a major theme.

Summary: I’d heard a lot of UH-MAY-ZING things about this book, so I had to pick it up and read it for myself. It was pretty good, actually; it kept me very hooked and intrigued… until I got about 1/3 of the way through the book. Then the author seemed to kind of give the surprise away on a silver platter. However, it didn’t really spoil the book, and I still enjoyed it. The character of Jenna is well-written and you can empathize with her. But all in all, I have to say it was just ‘pretty good.’ Not spectacular, but worth reading.

Ages: 16+

4 out of 5 stars

Siren

Author: Tricia Rayburn

Series: None

Genre: Young Adult/Mystery/Fantasy/Romance

Seventeen-year-old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything–the dark, heights, the ocean–but her fearless older sister, Justine, has always been there to coach her through every challenge. That is until Justine goes cliff diving one night near the family’s vacation house in Winter Harbor, Maine, and her lifeless body washes up on shore the next day. Vanessa’s parents want to work through the tragedy by returning to their everyday lives back in Boston, but Vanessa can’t help feeling that her sister’s death was more than an accident. After discovering that Justine never applied to colleges, and that she was secretly in a relationship with longtime family friend Caleb Carmichael, Vanessa returns to Winter Harbor to seek some answers. But when Vanessa learns that Caleb has been missing since Justine’s death, she and Caleb’s older brother, Simon, join forces to try to find him, and in the process, their childhood friendship blossoms into something more. Soon it’s not just Vanessa who is afraid. All of Winter Harbor is abuzz with anxiety when another body washes ashore, and panic sets in when the small town becomes home to a string of fatal, water-related accidents . . . in which all the victims are found grinning from ear to ear. As Vanessa and Simon probe further into the connections between Justine’s death and the sudden rash of creepy drownings, Vanessa uncovers a secret that threatens her new romance, and that will change her life forever.

Positive Content: Vanessa really loved her older sister Justine, and Justine did everything she could to look out and protect her younger sister. Vanessa watches out for her friends, and she and her parents try to connect in spite of differences. Simon, Caleb, and Vanessa all demonstrate personal sacrifice and look out for each other. Also, it was surprisingly free of language.

Negative Content: Vanessa’s sister and Simon’s brother are in a relationship.  They kiss a lot, and there’s talk of them making out all summer, and that they just hook up in the summer time.  It turns out that their relationship is more serious than just a summer romance, even though the rumors say it’s a fling. They are in love with each other.-A girl has a mysterious pull on men, and she acts seductively toward them.  She sometimes wears provocative clothing, and entrances them with her voice.  Kissing etc.

-The main characters who have been friends since childhood, have been developing feelings for each other.  Although the main character has never even kissed a boy before, she decides to kiss him and they procede to his bedroom where they sleep together.  There’s some detail about kissing, her taking off her shirt and removing his.  Mention of him slipping his hands between her skin and the button of her pants.  Then they wake up the next morning in bed together.

-A teenage friend of Vanessa’s ends up pregnant by her boyfriend.

 

There are some scary/tense scenes with some of the Sirens.

Summary: This book had just the right mix of intrigue and creepy-ness that made it difficult to put down. It was well-written, fast-paced, and exciting… but by no means ‘squeaky-clean.’ It dealt with sexual content well for the most part, considering it’s about Sirens. If the author could have simply taken out the ‘bedroom’ scene, it would have been a fairly clean book. However, it simply… wasn’t.

Ages: 17+

3 out of 5 stars 

 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Genre: Horror/gothic/mystery/adult

We bought this book yesterday – and it was surprisingly short. Not even 90 pages long!

So I got it finished within an hour. I knew the main story and had seen the Veggie Tales (does that count?) but had never read the book – I enjoyed it, of course, but since I already knew the outcome, it wasn’t as thrilling as it might have been.

However, yes, it was fun, and it was clean (I think there were a couple swear words) and would recommend it for anyone looking for a short but mysterious and dark semi-horror read. Not that people often come up to me and say “Excuse me, do you have any recommendations for a short but mysterious and dark semi-horror book, please?”

No cover picture available :)

Ages: 15+

3.5 out of 5 stars

The Phantom of the Opera

Author: Gaston LeRoux

Genre: Romance/Mystery/Murder/Adult

A macabre tale of romance, horror, passion, love, and murder, the Phantom of the Opera follows the love triangle of young and beautiful opera singer Christine, the mysterious Erik, known as the Phantom of the Opera who loves her and teaches her the ‘music of the night,’ and the Viscount Raoul de Chagny, who also loves Christine.

  ”What happens next!? What happens next!? What happens next!?” That’s what you think the entire time reading this book. That, and “WOW, this is good!”  This book was simply fantastic. The imagery was beautiful - amazingly written, highly detailed, well-plotted, great characters – the Phantom of the Opera is a macabre love story that will stay with you. You won’t be likely to forget the sympathetic, love-tortured Erik or the heroic, passionate Raoul, or the innocent beauty Christine and her voice of an angel.

Age: 16+

5 out of 5 stars!!

A Summer Secret

(Picture unavailable)

Back Cover: 

In the Mysteries of Middlefield series, readers will be immersed into exciting mysteries and authentic Amish culture.

With a twin brother and five younger brothers, Mary Beth Mullet’s house is in constant chaos. Her parents don’t seem to mind the noise, but she needs a break from all the pestering and babysitting.

It’s the summer before eighth grade, and Mary Beth plans to escape to her secret place as much as possible. The old barn in the neighboring field is dangerous, and her parents have forbidden her to go there, but she escapes to it as often as she can.

Mary Beth soon discovers she is not alone in the barn. Someone is living there; someone who needs help. Can Mary Beth help the stranger without losing her secret place? And what if the barn is as dangerous as her parents say it is?

Readers will identify with Mary Beth’s struggles for peace and independence and be engrossed in the excitement and danger of A Summer Secret.

My Review: (I can’t give away a lot as this was my sister Saerwen’s birthday present and I don’t want her to know how it goes!) This has interesting insights into the Amish lifestyle and has a strong Christian point of view, a great mystery series for younger Christian readers wanting a fun book!

Age: Any

3 out of 5 stars