The Forgotten Knight by Eilie Deritter

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Source:  I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinons expressed here are y own.

From Goodreads:

Sir Christopher of Calidore has had better days. He has no kingdom to defend, he is locked in a curse, and then he found himself swimming a moat and battling a wizard - all to rescue the most spoiled princess in Christendom. Now, he and his companion, a mysterious sorceress who was once advisor to his former liege, are escorting the opinionated princess home. Along the way, they are forced to battle evil and help those they find in need. With a little assistance from some strange friends during their journey, they struggle to find a way to change their destinies, break the curse that binds them together and reclaim their lives.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book and its fairy tale qualities. The first adventure is the rescue of a Princess trapped in a mirror. He battles a Cyclops, ogres and wizards. All along the way he leans on his faith. But what is the secret that will break the curse and who knows it?  This is why you must read the book.  You must read it for the adventures, for the faith Christopher has in his friends and in his God.  You must read it for the twists and turns you don’t see coming.   Finally you must read it for the ending that is not at all the way fairy tales should end.  But, I guarantee you that you will enjoy it. I remember before school let out for winter break, one of my students, a sixth grader, telling me I needed to help her find some romance books.  I told her the type of romance books that are out there are not appropriate for teens in my opinion.  This book has magic, friendship, loyalty and love, all rolled into one.  It is a clean read and one I can now recommend to that student.  I am so glad I had the privilege of reading and reviewing this book for the author.

Adam Forever and Adam's Caverns by Lawrence Lapin

Genre: Adult, Science Fiction
Source: I purchased them

Adam Forever 

This was a strange book, intriguing, but strange.  Adam Boatwright is a geneticist.  His wife is afraid she will inherit breast cancer and have to go through what her sister is going through.  Adam decides to try to find a way to prevent his wife and others in the world from developing this cancer.  As a geneticist he works on what he believes is a cure.  The cure will keep the virus active in the body while preventing cancer. As always, there is a side effect, immortality.  Adam can’t just test this on anyone so he does the unthinkable and tests it on himself.  It is here we run into the normal issues that would arise.  Is it ethical? Who should be allowed this treatment if the known outcome would be immortality?  As I read this it played in my head like a movie.  I could see future events that could become very difficult and in some cases catastrophic.  If you have a race of people who all have immortality, how do you weed out the bad ones?  Who has the right to play God and choose who gets to live and who doesn’t?

Adam’s Caverns

In the second book in the series we have gone beyond the treatment and immortality issue.  As a scientist, Adam and a group of his friends prepare for the end of the world.  A meteor is going to crash into the earth and only a few will survive.  Adam and his friends stockpile embryos, animals, plants and other things they will need to repopulate the earth once life is destroyed by this meteor.  But, like all societies, even the post-apocalyptic ones, life isn’t perfect and never goes as planned.  There is fighting among them and among a group who survived in Antarctica.  Once again we are face with all types of ethical and social issues.  This book was actually better than the first one.  If you are into this type of read then I would definitely recommend it.

She is Mine: A War Orphan's Incredible Journey of Survival - Stefanie Fast

Genre: Adult, Autobiography
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is such a heartwrenching story, and yet it is so full of hope.  No one knows the path many in this world walk or have walked. Very few could walk and survive the path Stefanie Fast walked. I am not real familiar with the Korean War since it was many, many years before my time. However, I remember hearing similar stories after the Vietnam War. An American soldier fathers a child with a Korean mother. It is bad enough the mother is left pregnant and unwed, but the baby is mixed which is an absolute taboo.  When she is four years old the family has had enough.  Her mother takes her to the train station and abandons her.  She spends years looking for her mother.  The abuse and atrocities she goes through make it a miracle she survived.  God looked down on her and had great plans for her.  She did survive.  This is one of those books you will start and continue to read until you have finished it.  You will need your tissues as this will break your heart and the warm it.  It made me hurt for every child today who goes through hardships.  It makes me appreciate my years growing up and the love I had.  I highly recommend this book.

Student Saturday: Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Student Reviewer: Shalyn W.
Genre: Middle Grade, Traditional, Fantasy

The book Tuesdays at the Castle starts out with the Castle Glower growing a new room because it is bored. The parents of a girl named Celie and her other siblings. She is advised to watch them, but when her parents disappear will she be able to keep them away from this room? I can relate to this book because my mom keeps many secrets away from me. I really liked this book because usually  I'm not a fan of traditional fiction. I would recommend this book to new tradional readers.

The Last Orphans by N.W. Harris

Genre: Young Adult, Apocalyptic
Source: I received a copy to faclitate my review. The opinions expressed are my own.

From Goodreads:
One horrifying day will change the life of sixteen-year-old Shane Tucker and every other kid in the world. 

In a span of mere hours, the entire adult population is decimated, leaving their children behind to fend for themselves and deal with the horrific aftermath of the freak occurrence. As one of the newly made elders in his small town, Shane finds himself taking on the role of caretaker for a large group of juvenile survivors. One who just happens to be Kelly Douglas—an out-of-his-league classmate—who, on any other day, would have never given Shane a second glance. 

Together, they begin their quest to find out why all of the adults were slaughtered. What they find is even more horrifying than anything they could have expected—the annihilation of the adults was only the beginning. Shane and his friends are not the unlucky survivors left to inherit this new, messed-up planet. No, they are its next victims. There is an unknown power out there, and it won’t stop until every person in the world is dead. 

A spine-tingling adventure that will have you gasping for breath all the way until the last page, The Last Orphans is the first book in an all-new apocalyptic series.

My Thoughts:
My first thought while reading this book was that it should be made into a movie.  Any time I read a book and it becomes so visual, I have to believe it would make a great movie.  I also believe that only really talented authors can do this.  I loved the way that the heroes were those people we would least expect to be heroes.  They would be the ones we wouldn't give a second thought to.  The method the author chose to kill off the adults was terrifying to me.  I can only imagine what a teen would think.  This is so different from most apocalyptic type of books.  Would I recommend this?  You bet!  Will I read it again?  Definitely.  Then I'll sit back a wait, impatiently for the next book.  I love finding new authors and I am so glad I have found this one.

Don't Forget Me Bro by John Michael Cummings

Genre:  Adult, Realistic Fiction
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own

From Goodreads:
In this heartfelt journey, families contain all of it. There’s simply no tidy, predictable emotional or dynamic boundary to draw around these most primal of human units. Even those who don’t know their biological families have collective relationships that daily test their autonomy, individuality, self-worth and dreams. Cummings, who’s spent more than three decades writing about human beings, mainly of the everyday American persuasion, excels in uncovering those beneath-the-skin familial stories that realistically probe uncomfortable, often invisible, areas of life. When families and their perceptions of mental illness collide, as happens with such gritty persistence in Don't Forget Me, Bro all the discomfort of relationships, normal and otherwise, comes to the fore.

My Thoughts:
I loved this book.  The author takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster.  We get a look at a dysfunctional family and the damages done through abuse.  We also look at a family dealing with mental illness.  The tension the author was able to write into this book made it so real.  I felt at times as if I was in the room with Mark.  I almost could not breath. This is a story of a dysfunctional family that is dealing with grief and life to the best of their ability.  If nothing else this book made me take a look at my own family, a coloer look.  I believe after reading this book that all families are dysfunctional in some ways, yet we are all still family.  I will definitely recommend this book.

About the Author:
John Michael Cummings’ short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary journals, including North American Review, The Kenyon Review, and The Iowa Review. Twice he has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. His short story “The Scratchboard Project” received an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007. His novella The House of My Father, from which his debut novel was adapted, was a finalist in the 2006 Miami University Novella Contest.

The Night I Freed John Brown is Mr. Cummings’ powerful first novel for young readers. A native of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, he draws on his own experiences growing up in this intriguing historic town.

John Michael Cummings lives in Orlando with his cat, Sentry

Student Saturday: Bad Unicorn by Platte F. Clark

Student Reviewer: Luis O.
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Source: I picked this book because I thought it would be funny...And it was

This book started with a boy called Max. He finds an old book he used to read whe he was a childe. The book was called "The Codex". It was show and tell and Max wanted to demonstrate teh book he had found. When he read he read aout unicorns. People started laughing so Max went to another page and read about Frobbits. When he finished reading the teacher said, "I believe I said the assignment was to read a chapter from a historical fiction book."  I recoment this book to kids that like humor.

The Second Coming: A Love Story by Scott Pinsker

Genre: Adult, Religious and Spiritual
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
In The Second Coming: A Love Story, the devilish new novel by Scott Pinsker, the culture war between Red America and Blue America turns shockingly real when two self-declared saviors appear on earth. The first “messiah” attracts legions of liberal and secular-progressive followers with his message of New Age brotherhood, quickly becoming the darling of the left. The second “messiah” preaches fire-and-brimstone traditional Christianity, gaining a grassroots army of conservative worshippers ready to battle to the death. 

It’s finally happened: Red America and Blue America are headed for Armageddon! 

My Thoughts:
When I was first asked to read and review this book I was intrigued enough to say yes.  I'm glad I did.  I am impressed that the author chose not to take a side in this story.  It is told in a way that you walk away wondering which man is which.  I like that element.  It gives the reader food for thought.  Don't think you will read this book which show us two men both claiming to be the returned messiah, and find out which one is which.  You won't learn this.  I loved that it was set up so that the two me approach it the way politicians would.  The constant question running through the book is "What if"?  Would I recommend this book?  Yes I would.  I would not categorize this as Christian because there are too many questions left open.  I would suggest you get a copy and read it for yourself.

Shay West's Trilogy

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult

Welcome to the world created by Shay West.  

Alexis Davenport is the teen protagonist in this wonderful trilogy. We start out with the book Dangerous Reflections where Alexis and her mom have moved across the country to her aunts guest house. There are so many changes in her life.  She wasn't expecting to see another face in a mirror.  She especially wasn't expecting to time travel through the mirror into the body of that face.  She is special and is out to save the world. For my full review of this book click here.

The second book in the series is called Twisted Reflections.  In this second book in the trilogy Alexis travels back in time to Egypt, and this time she meets someone like herself that can help her figure some of this out.  You can check out my full review to this book here.

The final book in this trilogy is called Desperate Reflections.  In this book Alexis comes face to face with the evil she has been trying to stop. This time he has not only her in his sights, but her friends and family as well.

I have to tell you that if there is one set of books you buy this year then this should be the set.   I have recommended it to several of my students.  I waited for all three books to come out in paperback before I  purchased them for my classroom.  I have students that won't start a series until the books are all out so that they can read them all straight through.  By bundling all of these kindle books together, you get not only a great series, but also a great price. Click here for a link to the Amazon page to order yours.  Understand that I am inn no way compensated for my review.  I just believe that it is one of the best series I have read this year.  So what are you waiting on?

Adelita’s Secret – Christopher Cloud

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:

Lost in a superficial world of materialism and social status-and ashamed of her Latino heritage-seventeen-year-old Adelita Noe is loved by two men, two men separated by a hundred years and vastly different stations in life. One man owns little more than the shirt on his back. The other, a poet at heart, is heir to a vast fortune. Their love for Adelita serves as the backdrop for the Latino girl's quest to better understand herself and her Mexican roots.

My Thoughts:

As a teacher of teenagers the first thing I must say is how authentic the events and dialogue are. Another thing I must say is that overall I don’t care for romance stories. However, if you throw something else in, such as paranormal elements, then it becomes very enjoyable.  The message is very appropriate to teens today. They need to take pride in who they are and where they come from. Adelita has to learn this. I also enjoyed the history sprinkled in. All of the elements make it a book I would definitely recommend to teens and adults.