Spectral - Shannon Duffy

Publisher:  Tribute Books

Pages:  242

Source:  Review copy from publisher in exchange for my honest review

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

From Publisher:

Convinced she’s a part of the witness protection program, sixteen-year-old Jewel Rose is shuffled around the globe with her family like a pack of traveling gypsies. After arriving at lucky home twenty-seven, she stumbles upon a mysterious boy with magical powers claiming to be her guardian . . . and warning of imminent danger. Despite the obvious sparks between them, Jewel discovers a relationship is forbidden, and the more she learns about dark, brooding Roman, she begins to question who she can even believe — the family who raised her, or the supposed sworn protector who claims they’ve been lying to her all along.

As she struggles to uncover who her family has really been running from, she is forced to hide her birthmark that reveals who she is. With new realities surfacing, unexplained powers appearing, and two tempting boys vying for her heart, Jewel battles to learn who she can trust in an ever growing sea of lies, hoping she’ll make it through her seventeenth birthday alive.

My Thoughts:

This was a very interesting book.  It has two hunky guys for Jewel to hook up with.  One of them, Chase, is a very popular jock.  The other one, Roman, comes across as a bad boy.  Jewel has never been in one place long enough to have a close friend, let alone a boy friend.

Now she has a best friend named Taylor and two boys who are trying for her attention.  With her past experiences with people chasing them, who can she trust when strange things begin to happen? 

There is a well rounded cast of characters.  Jewel has a definite connection with her younger brother.  To say she would do anything for him is an understatement.  Their relationship reminded me of my son and daughter.  She has an aunt that you just want to kill.  I felt tension the minute she entered the story.  I just knew she had to be up to no good. Then we meet the grandmother.  Jewel and her brother are thrilled to see her.  The author does an excellent job of making you think you one thing then throwing a twist at you that you could not possibly see coming.   This was a great read.

About the Author:

Shannon Duffy writes young adult and middle grade fiction. She grew up on the beautiful east coast of Canada and now lives in Ontario, Canada. She is the mom of one boy, Gabriel, her angel. She loves writing, reading, working out, soccer, and the sport of champions-shopping. She is the author of the young adult paranormal romance novel, SPECTRAL. Her upcoming middle grade fantasy novel, GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA is scheduled for a January 2013 release.


Extra Resources:

Spectral web site:  http://spectralwitch.blogspot.com/

Spectral Twitter hashtag:  #Spectral

Spectral GoodReads page:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13319632-spectral

Shannon Duffy's Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001969007586

Shannon Duffy's Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/ShannonDuffyLit

Shannon Duffy's Website:  http://www.shannonduffylit.com/

Shannon Duffy's Blog:  http://1fantasyfairy.blogspot.com/

Shannon Duffy's GoodReads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3873156.Shannon_Duffy

Tribute Books website:  http://www.tribute-books.com

A Perfect Square - Vannetta Chapman

Publisher:  Zondervan

Pages:  352

Source:  Won a copy from author

Genre:    Amish, Romance, Mystery, Christian

From Goodreads:

There's more to the quaint northern Indiana town of Shipshewana than Amish-made furniture, immaculate farms, and close-knit families. When a dead girl is found floating in a local pond, murder is also afoot. And Reuben Fisher is in jail as the suspect. Reuben refuses to divulge any information, even to clear himself of a crime Deborah is certain he didn't commit.

My Thoughts:

I love a murder mystery, especially if it has been taken up a notch by placing it in an Amish setting.  Callie and her friends are once again trying to solve a mystery.  Reuben has been locked up in jail as a suspect in the death of an Amish girl.  No one in the community believes Reuben could or would have done such a thing.  While Callie has her hands full with one mystery, an old Amish gentleman comes to her seeking her help.  His daughter had disappeared during the 1965 Palm Sunday tornadoes.  I remember those tornadoes and the feel of our house being lifted off of its foundation.  Now Callie must try to make the connection between the two mysteries to solve them.

I love reading books by Vannetta Chapman.  It is a great blend of Amish and English, Romance and Mystery.  The Christian aspects are not preachy.  I can’t wait until the third book in this series, Material Witness, comes out this fall.  If you want to see what Vannetta is up to go to her Facebook page.

Student Saturday: The Pike River Phantom - Betty Wren Wright

Publisher:  Scholastic
Pages:  160
Student Reviewer:  Chantal

Charlie and his cousin Rachel are having trouble getting along.  They always argue. Especially because everyone thinks she's perfect including Rachel! She is going to be the Sunbonnet Queen in the town's big parade this summer.  No one likes Charlie. No one thinks he is perfect. One day Charlie tells Rachel about the strange woman he saw in the abandoned house down by the "Pike River", but Rachel doesn't believe him at first.  But, she is making a big mistake.  the woman Charlie saw was really a ghost, not a woman.  charlie thinks it was a ghost! Every time Charlie tries to tell Rachel about the woman she just ignores him.  She thinks it's a complete joke just for attention. But, the ghost Charlie saw is coming to get Rachel. The only question that every one wants to find out is why does the ghost hate Rachel so much? Read the book to find out.
I really recommend reading this book. I think you should read this because. It's really scary which I love. It's a mystery book. Good luck finding out why the ghost hates Rachel so much. You'll be surprised by what happens. This book reminded me of my favorite show "Taps". Taps is a crew that does ghost hunting.  I really want to do ghost hunting when I grow up or work for the ASPCA helping animals.  My opinion about the book is that you should really read it because it's an awesome book! The ghost wants something and will do anything to get it................anything!