Please enable JavaScript
Print | Page 141 | LitPick Book Reviews
Print
Back Creek
Back Creek
Leslie Goetsch
"It’s the summer of 1975. Eighteen-year-old Grace Barnett knows she should be preparing to leave for college in September. But a strange Memorial Day boating accident on the creek near her Virginia home―she’s the only witness to the apparent suicide―kicks off a series of events that will define her family’s future as well as her emerging view of life.On the very day of the victim’s funeral, Grace’s older sister, Lillian, absent from the family for the past five years, suddenly reappears. Unfortunately, it is also the day Grace’s mother chooses to quietly walk out on her family, leaving Grace to act as the mediator between her prodigal sister and her badly wounded father.As the summer wears on, Grace finds herself thinking less about college and more about how to mend the rifts in her family. She turns to her neighbor, Cal, a recently returned Vietnam vet, to help sort through her problems. After weathering her sister’s unexpected return and pregnancy, her father’s budding alcoholism, and Cal’s war-induced neurosis, Grace decides to set off to rural North Carolina with the intention of bringing her mother back home."

Book Details

The Dragon's Eye (The Dragonology Chronicles, Vol. 1)
The Dragon's Eye
Dugald A. Steer, Douglas Carrel
"Steer infuses the exciting story with the flavor of a nineteenth-century novel and incorporates dragon lore found in his earlier books. Dragon lovers will be well pleased." —-BOOKLISTAdventure! Villains! And dragons, dragons, dragons! From the creators of the best-selling Dragonology series, this first volume of the Dragonology Chronicles finds Daniel Cook and his sister, Beatrice, studying with eccentric dragonologist Dr. Ernest Drake. Soon they’re caught up in a race to find the stolen Dragon’s Eye —- a jewel that has the power to reflect the true Dragon Master —- before it is stolen by the evil Ignatius Crook. Working with Dr. Drake (and many friendly dragons), can these young siblings foil Ignatius and recover the Dragon’s Eye?

Book Details

I Conquer Britain
I Conquer Britain
A bohemian Brooklyn teen crosses the pond to visit an uptight English family in the hilarious companion to SOPHIE PITT-TURNBULL DISCOVERS AMERICA.The exchange of daughters that began in SOPHIE-PITT TURNBULL DISCOVERS AMERICA continues! Excited (not to say desperate) as Cherokee Salamanca is to get out of Brooklyn, she starts having doubts about her summer in London even before she leaves Heathrow Airport. To start with, the Pitt- Turnbulls speak a language only vaguely like the one Cherokee knows as English. And then Putney reminds her of New Jersey — an oddly polite Jersey where people eat pizza with a fork. But Cherokee is a girl who likes a challenge, and there’s no way she’s going to let the British defeat her. The question is: will she conquer the British?

Book Details

Seraphina
Seraphina
Rachel Hartman
Lyrical, imaginative, and wholly original, this New York Times bestseller with 8 starred reviews is not to be missed.  Rachel Hartman’s award-winning debut will have you looking at dragons as you’ve never imagined them before…   In the kingdom of Goredd, dragons and humans live and work side by side – while below the surface, tensions and hostility simmer. The newest member of the royal court, a uniquely gifted musician named Seraphina, holds a deep secret of her own. One that she guards with all of her being.When a member of the royal family is brutally murdered, Seraphina is drawn into the investigation alongside the dangerously perceptive—and dashing—Prince Lucien. But as the two uncover a sinister plot to destroy the wavering peace of the kingdom, Seraphina’s struggle to protect her secret becomes increasingly difficult… while its discovery could mean her very life.   "Will appeal to both fans of Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series and Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown." —Entertainment Weekly“[A] lush, intricately plotted fantasy.” —The Washington Post"Beautifully written. Some of the most interesting dragons I've read." —Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon

Book Details

Diary of a Parent Trainer
Diary of a Parent Trainer
Jenny Smith

Book Details

A Walk Through Life
A Walk Through Life
Duane Ashley Poole
Life's inspirational poetry from a young mans perspectiveA poetry book captivating many everyday life scenarios many of us can relate to. This thoughtful and imaginative compilation of poetry, will be sure to enrapture the heart, and uplift the soul. So let's venture on a journey in "A walk through life".

Book Details

Rich Girl: A BFF Novel
Rich Girl
Carol Culver
At an exclusive school like Manderly Prep, you really need your BFFs to get you through. Victoria Lee, who spent her childhood in Hong Kong, has been transplanted to her parents' McMansion-unsupervised. Anyone else would think they were dreaming, but for Victoria, it's closer to a nightmare. Life alone in a big house can make you feel really empty. Victoria feels like she's stepped out of the book she has to read for Brit Lit, A Tale of Two Cities. And it's not just Hong Kong vs. San Francisco. It's her parents' Ivy League dreams vs. her own dream of fashion school. And the snotty kids at Manderley Prep vs. her real friends, Cindy and Maggie. Then there's her crush Steve, who doesn't even notice her anymore. She doesn't even feel at home at home-since the housekeeper's son, Gabe, acts like Victoria's very breath is destroying his precious environment. Maybe he's got a point. Maybe Victoria is miles from where she really belongs.

Book Details

Something to Blog About
Something To Blog About
Shana Norris
Boys, bullies, and blogs come together in a book that brings the popular online diary format to print.For fans of Lauren Myracle’s ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r, this fun, fast-paced book introduces an unforgettable and relatable heroine and features chapter openers designed to look like the pages of an online blog. An innovative debut, Something to Blog About is filled with the memorable missteps and heartfelt emotions of growing up.Libby Fawcett decides to start a secret blog so that she can have an outlet to vent her feelings and frustrations. When Seth Jacobs (her crush since eighth grade) witnesses her tragic (and comic) run-in with a Bunsen burner in chemistry class, or when she finds out that her mother is dating the father of her arch-nemesis, Angel Rodriguez, she’s able to keep a level head and make it through school each day with each blog posting. But when her entries get posted all over for the whole world to see, will Libby be able to walk the halls—or face Seth—ever again?Debut author Shana Norris will win over a whole new generation of teens as she hilariously chronicles the pitfalls and triumphs of the life of a high school girl.

Book Details

How They Met and Other Stories (Borzoi Books)
How They Met, and Other Stories
David Levithan
Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes a confection from David Levithan that is sure to have fans of Boy Meets Boy eager to devour it. Here are 18 stories, all about love, all kinds of love. From the aching for the one you pine for, to standing up and speaking up for the one you love, to pure joy and happiness, these love stories run the gamut of that emotion that at some point has turned every one of us inside out and upside down.What is love? With this original story collection, David Levithan proves that love is a many splendored thing, a varied, complicated, addictive, wonderful thing.

Book Details

The Highwayman: Saga of the First King
The Highwayman
R. A. Salvatore
Synopsis In The Highwayman, New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore takes his readers back to his signature world of Corona, introducing a fascinating new hero in the Saga of the First King series. It is God's year 54, many years before the Demon Wars, in the land of Corona. The roads are unsafe to travel; goblins and bloodthirsty Powries search out human prey. Two religions struggle fiercely for control. Bran Dynard, a monk of the fledgling religion of Abelle, returns from his mission in a far-off land with a book of mystical knowledge and a beautiful and mysterious new wife. But he soon realizes that the world he left behind has changed, and his dream of spreading the wisdom he learned to his fellow monks is crushed. Forced to hide his wife and his precious book, Bran must decide whom he can trust and where he should now place his faith. Twenty years later, the situation has grown darker and more desperate. Only the Highwayman travels freely, his sword casting aside both Powries and soldiers. The people need a savior, but is the Highwayman on a mission of mercy or vengeance?

Book Details

Pages



RECENT BOOK REVIEWS