The Whizbang Machine by Danielle A. Vann

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure

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

Synopsis from Goodreads:

After years of running from his tragic past, Jack Yale books a flight home. With him is a typewriter that is intended to be a gift for his granddaughter, Elizabeth. The minute Elizabeth’s fingers cradle the large black and cream keys the machine responses: popping, sizzling, and roaring to life with a Whiz-Whiz-BANG! Elizabeth quickly discovers the typewriter has powers beyond anything she has ever seen. The more she types, the more the machine spells out guarded secrets that need to be revealed in order to set history straight and remove a curse that has been on their family for centuries. To solve the mystery, Elizabeth Yale, alongside Jack, will have to crack the code of the Whizbang Machine. What they find challenges their most basic assumptions of their family, the history of the typewriter, and even Elizabeth’s father’s death. The ultimate goal is to remove the curse. The question is: will Jack and Elizabeth be able to carry out their mission?

My Thoughts:

Any time I can read a book that is so clean, yet so adventurous, it is a win-win situation. It is a win for me because I can recommend it to my students and parents. It is a win for my students because they are in for an adventure they won’t want to end. Most young kids have never seen or touched a typewriter. They may have seen pictures. They have so many different fonts available with computers today. The author used old typewriter font throughout the book so the reader knows when the typewriter is putting out a message.  This is what I call charming. One of my students thought it was cool because they had seen papers at their grandmother’s house that looked the same.

The adventures keep readers turning the pages. They are carried along on the adventure. The reader never feels like they are on the outside of the story reading along. It is more a feeling of traveling with Jack and Elizabeth as a third member.  It has a creepy, mysterious feel to it. These are all elements I love in a book.  I kept thinking about the dangerous aspects they find themselves in and if I would be the kind of grandparent to go on that adventure with a grandchild. I’d like to think I am adventurous enough I would, or that my grandchildren could persuade me to.  I definitely recommend this book to young and old alike. There are so many great things about it. You have a curse, a mystery, travel, history, and one adventure after another. I am definitely anxiously waiting for the next book by this author.

You can find out more about the author here:

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Bitter Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

Genre: Adult, Thriller

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

Bitter Moon is the fourth book in the Huntress series.  In this series we have an FBI agent named Matthew Roarke who has spent a large amount of time tracking down a woman named Cara Lindstrom. Cara goes after the most evil of predators, as she was once a victim herself. However, nothing condones murder. The biggest problem for Roarke is he finds himself stuck between doing his job and his admiration for Cara. This makes Roarke take a leave of absence. 

When Cara escapes Matthew Roarke goes back on the hunt. This time he uncovers the very thing that set Cara on this path. This will take him back to her old high school and more brutality than he could imagine.

One thing that made this book so great to me is the very thing some people might not like. The author uses alternating chapters to go back in time to show us how Cara became the person she is today, and then chapters to show us present time with Matthew Roarke trying to uncover Cara’s past. This is a sixteen year spread. I felt that this was probably the very best way to tell this story. It is what has made me fall in love all over again with the story line.  Learning what you do about Cara’s past makes a part of you really like her, even though a part of you can’t condone what she has done.

If you haven’t read the first three books in the series, you really must. It will explain things you really need to know to make this book an outstanding one to read. However, having said that, it reads well as a stand alone book.  This one had a lot more emotional backdrop. The reader is given a look at the social system from Cara’s point of view. Unfortunately it really mirrors a lot of today’s system. As I have said before, any book that can make me feel such a range of emotions is a book I will definitely recommend to my readers. Don’t walk, run to get your copy. You won’t regret it.  I think one reason I loved this series is because it kind of reminded me of the Dexter series that was on television years ago. It was probably my favorite series because it showed someone deeply scarred seeking revenge on those he saw as evil.

You can read my review of the other books in the series and a guest post by the author by clicking below.

Huntress Moon

Blood Moon

Cold Moon

Author Guest Post

Guest Post: Maria Grazia Swan Author of Gemini Moon

Fiction versus reality.

I’m often asked where I get my ideas for the stories I write. What can I say? From everyday life. And not just ideas, objects and locations also.

Take my Lella York Mysteries series, let’s compare some of her everyday items with my own, past and present. 

Her car; she drives a Mustang. For years I drove a silver Mustang with custom paint job on the hood. The young men at the car wash would argue for the fun of taking the car through the wash. It was that cool. Later on I traded it in for a 2 door black Infiniti, but that's another story...

Her townhouse. Yes, I'm describing the gated complex I lived at while in Dana Point. Common garage and even the views. Eventually I moved south.

Mission San Juan Capistrano. I was a volunteer there for a couple of years, and did everything Lella describes...including answering the phones on Swallows day.

Flash the cat? The name of my black cat was...Cat. RIP.

All the restaurants and places named in the book are real. Some are now gone, like the bar where Lella first met Ruby. Quiet cannon is now called Cannons, and my beloved Sarducci moved from across the Mission to the train depot.

But don’t take my word for it…read the books and then you’ll have a good reason to visit Orange County, the old Mission and the wonderful beaches from San Clemente to the South to Seal Beach to the North. Believe me, you’ll be happy you did.

Author Bio

Award winning author Maria Grazia Swan was born in Italy, but has also lived in Belgium, France, Germany, in beautiful Orange County, California where she raised her family. She is currently at home in Phoenix, Arizona.

As a young girl, her vivid imagination predestined her to be a bestselling author. She won her first literary award at the age of fourteen while living in Belgium. As a young woman Maria returned to Italy designing haute couture. Once in the U.S. and after years of concentrating on family, she tackled real estate. These days her time is devoted to her deepest passions: writing and helping people and pets find the perfect home.

Maria loves travel, opera, good books, hiking, and intelligent movies (if she can find one, that is). When asked about her idea of a perfect evening, she favors stimulating conversation, Northern Italian food and perfectly chilled Prosecco.

www.mariagraziaswan.com  

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