Evernight by Claudia Gray

Age Level: Teen

Format: Book

 

Raquel whispered, “Don’t you ever feel like there’s something at this school that’s . . . evil?”  Her voice shook.  “Do you believe in real evil?”

 

Nobody had ever asked me that, but I knew the answer.  “Yeah.  I do.”

 

Evernight Academy is a secluded boarding school tucked away in the middle of no where.  To outsiders, it seems like just another elite boarding school for the rich.  However, it’s a place that has secrets – many secrets – and these secrets have been around since the school’s founding centuries ago.  

 

Bianca is a new student at Evernight Academy.  Both of her parents have just signed on as teachers at the school.  She’s not happy about having to move away from all of her friends to this new place, where she knows, she does not fit in.  She’s resigned herself to a lonely existence at her new school, but then she meets Lucas, another student who doesn’t fit the mold and she knows she has found a rare friend.  Unfortunately, there are forces conspiring against Bianca and Lucas.  Their newfound friendship and love seems doomed.

 

I absolutely loved this book!  The story is tightly written with many great details about both the school’s forbidding character and the relationship between Lucas and Bianca.  There is a major twist in the middle of this book which caught me completely unaware.  I thought I knew where the story was going, why Lucas and Bianca’s budding romance was probably not going to work out, and what the evil at the school really was.  I was caught by surprise, and so will you. 

 

Give Evernight a chance.  You won’t be sorry.

 

Reviewed by Sara.

Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott

Age Level: Adult
Format: Book

The practice of alchemy and the world of the seventeenth century collide in contemporary times in this suspense novel. Cameron Brown commissions his former lover Lydia Brooke to ghostwrite an Isaac Newton biograhpy by his late mother Elizabeth Vogelsang, who died under mysterious circumstances. Lydia moves into Elizabeth's home to immerse herself in Elizabeth's notes for her biography. As Lydia reads Elizabeth's work and talks with a few people close to Elizabeth, she discovers links between murders that occurred in Cambridge (England) during the seventeenth century and vicious attacks by an animal rights group in present day Cambridge. All the links point to Isaac Newton and his practice of alchemy. The further Lydia delves into Elizabeth's research and conclusions, the more dangerous her life becomes. Comprehending the clues from the past may just save Lydia's life. And then, there is the white-haired man in seventeenth century clothing who watches Lydia - what is his connection to all of this?

Stott writes her novel in the first person from Lydia's perspective. There are many plot twists in the end, leaving for a surprising ending. I liked the link established between present and past; history can repeat itself if individuals fail to observe past actions. I think Stott's concept is very interesting, making aspects of the seventeenth century come to life while walking around in a modern day city. In one instance, Lydia becomes so immersed in imagining a seventeenth century setting that she can hear and smell and experience a seventeenth century market, as if she was actually there, though she obviously remains rooted in present day Cambridge. While this is a book of suspense, it also has elements of scholarly information: throughout the book, Stott includes chapters of Elizabeth's Newton biography, providing a nonfiction-feel to a fiction book. At times thrills and chills and at other times romantic, this book may interest historical fiction readers and suspense readers.

Reviewed by Jessica

Banana: the Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World by Dan Koeppel

Age Level: Adult
Format: Book

Many people eat a banana during the course of their day. In the United States, we eat bananas in our cereal, as a quick breakfast, or in an ice cream sundae. But, what is the story behind the banana? Koeppel examines the history of the banana in this nonfiction account of a world favorite fruit. Touring plantations and fields that grow bananas, as well as combing through documents and histories of world-leading banana companies, Koeppel discovers the banana's role in politics around the world and the struggle of some scientists to save the banana from disease.

Koeppel's smooth writing makes his narrative very easy to read. He documents his sources at the end of the book and provides a concise timeline of major banana events. I found this book to be quite enjoyable and eye opening: I was completely unaware of the political and scientific turmoil surrounding the banana. Not only have I gained a greater appreciation of the banana, but I will never look at the fruit the same way again. After reading this book, you will not either.

Reviewed by Jessica

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James

Age Level: Adult
Format: Book

What if Jane Austen left a journal of a secret love affair? In the movie Becoming Jane, Jane's encounter with Tom LeFroy is fictionalized into a love story. In Syrie James' novel, written in Jane's voice, Jane meets Mr. Frederick Ashford, a wealthy gentleman who matches Jane's personality and character very well. They fall in love during short accidental encounters. Ashford's constant attentions drive Jane to return to writing novels, something that she had neglected for several years. Using elements of her life, Jane begins to edit and rewrite her novel Sense and Sensibility.

Written in a memoir style with "editor's" footnotes explaining events, terms, and situations, James creates a fictional love story for Jane Austen. James uses a lot of circumstances and conversations Austen portrays in her novels Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice to try to connect Austen's real world with the world in Austen's novels. Readers of Austen's novels will see these connections throughout James' novel.

I found this novel to be a fun, and at times heartbreaking, read. Keeping in mind that not much is known about Jane Austen's life, any novel written about her just adds to her mystery. Readers who enjoy this novel may also want to try Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries. Barron's mysteries are also written from Austen's perspective and have a touch of romance in the storyline.

Reviewed by Jessica

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Age Level: Teen
Format: Book

Girl meets boy. Girl loses boy. Girl gets boy back...sort of.

Ava and Jackson are in love. They go everywhere together, do everything together, share everything. Then, Ava's fifteen year old world falls apart when Jackson dies; and, Ava thinks she caused his death. Written in verse, this book takes readers through Ava's thoughts and feelings about the accident and about the aftermath. Oh, did I mention that Ava's dead boyfriend seems to hang around Ava, playing music, touching her, kissing her, enveloping her house in his sandalwood scent, not willing to let her go? Ava must make a choice: move on with her life, or keep her ghost boyfriend with her forever.

Schroeder weaves first love and tragic loss into a beautifully revealing book about loss and picking up the pieces. Fans of Sonya Sones' style of writing, what is termed as verse novels (or novels written in prose format), will enjoy this book. This is definitely one storyline that will "haunt" me for quite awhile.

Reviewed by Jessica