The Body Finder

The Body Finder
By Kimberly Derting
Harper, 2010. 329 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Violet, a junior in high school, has the inexplicable ability to sense the location of bodies of people who have been violently murdered. They call to her in an almost musical manner – not letting her rest until they are properly buried. Only Violet’s parents, best friend Jay, and Uncle Stephen (the local police chief) know her secret. When a serial killer begins targeting young girls in Violet’s hometown she feels obligated to help track the murderer. Because of Violet's connection with the police she is allowed on location in a man hunt and believes she has successfully targeted the suspect. The author builds tension by alternating chapters and points of view between Violet and the killer. Interspersed with mystery and danger in this novel is first love. Violet and Jay have been best friends since third grade. Now seemingly perfect Jay has grown up and other girls are taking an intense interest in him. Violet doesn't want to acknowledge what her conflicted and jealous feelings about this mean.

I liked the unique twist of Violet’s paranormal abilities, and the mystery of knowing the killer was hiding in plain sight. The contrast of the every day teen matters of homecoming dances and homework is nicely contrasted with the cold, distorted world of a serial killer. Although sixteen year old Violet seemed a complete character, her parents, and Jay were less complex. I particularly didn't like the excited seal of approval, along with closed bedroom door privileges, Violet's parents bestowed upon the new boyfriend relationship. This along with the cliche ending changed my feelings for the novel from enjoyment to exasperation.

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Poison Study

Poison Study
By Maria V. Snyder
Mira, 2005.
409 pgs. Science Fiction

Yelena faces death by hanging until she is offered amnesty by the intimidating Valek, chief of security for the territory of Ixia. Valek offers a condition Yelena can't deny. He will spare her life if she will become his poison taster. Valek teaches Yelena to recognize the slightest hint of poison in food and drink. While enjoying her freedom from the dungeon Yelena discovers that some people want her dead. As political tensions grow in Ixia Yelena discovers a magical talent within her that she cannot control. This is an exciting series opener with intelligent political focus, adventure, and sophisticated romance.

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Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush
By Becca Fitzpatrick
Simon & Schuster, 2010. 391 pgs. Young Adult Fiction

Nora Grey’s father is unexpectedly mugged and killed leaving Nora feeling jumpy, lonely and vulnerable. Her mother is forced to take a new job which requires her to be away from their isolated country home for days at a time. Adding to her problems, Nora feels like she is being watched and followed. These impressions prove true when an unknown assailant begins to harass and threaten her. At the same time, in Nora’s sophomore science class she is strangely paired with a senior student, Patch Cipriano. Nora is intrigued by Patch’s dark good looks and bad boy persona but instinctively feels something is “off” with him. Nora’s best friend, fun loving Vee, develops a friendship with private school transfer student, Elliot. Despite Vee’s protests, Nora doesn’t trust Elliot either. Soon quiet Nora finds things are not as they seem, and her intuition about immediate danger is right.

Becca Fitzpatrick’s first work combines horror and romance in a novel that is sometimes gripping but often implausible. As a romantic foil, Patch should be intriguing enough to feel like otherwise sensible Norah could fall for him, but he’s not. In addition, the pacing of the novel is off. The forthcoming sequel could help explain events that were wrapped up too quickly and succinctly.

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Beguiled

Beguiled
By Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand
Bethany House, 2010. 329 pages. Romance

As a child Rylee Monroe lived in the rich, historic district of downtown Charleston. Now, after a family tragedy, she only works there as a dog walker for the local elite. While in a client’s mansion, Rylee encounters the “Robin Hood” thief, so nicknamed because he is stealing artifacts from the rich and donating them to charity. Newspaper reporter Logan Woods is covering the story. Logan and Rylee meet cute and begin to try and solve the crime together. Logan feels a strong attraction for Rylee and wants a relationship but Rylee has trust issues. To further complicate matters the local police detective suspects Rylee is involved with the break-ins. Logan must decide whether to pursue the story or the girl.

Deeanne Gist is an inspirational romance author. Her talent at describing a Christian courtship is accentuated by crime writer Mark Bertrand’s contributions. The whodunit element adds interesting characters and suspense. Fans of Charleston will enjoy detailed descriptions of the area. I wouldn’t name this novel among Gist’s best, but readers who want a predictable, nice mystery along with some gentle romance will take pleasure in this one.

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A Little Change of Face

A Little Change of Face
By Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Red Dress Inc., 2005. 328 pages. Romance

Scarlett Jane Stein hates her name but loves her appearance. She easily attracts men. By her own admittance Scarlett chose the profession of librarian in order to rebel against stereotype. In fact, when interesting men first see Scarlett behind a library desk they exclaim with surprise that she should choose to "hide" herself there. Scarlett is involved in an unhealthy relationship with her default best friend Pam. Pam continually taunts Scarlett about her beauty and issues a dare. The dare is that Scarlett won't be able to captivate men and get dates just by personality alone. After a bout with the chicken pox and a some time to re-evaluate her life Scarlett accepts and proceeds to complete a make-under. She changes her sexy name and wardrobe, wears glasses instead of contacts, cuts her wavy long hair, abandons all grooming and moves to a new workplace to try it all out. Surprise! It turns out Scarlett finds that most men do treat her differently. The exception is Steve Holt, a winder painter, who likes Scarlett without all the flash. But Scarlett finds out Steve has his own secrets.
I picked up this example of chick lit intrigued by the spin on the classic makeover story. "From swan to ugly ducking..."are the teaser words on the pink front cover. The author writes in first person narrative and the novel suffers spending so much time in Scarlett's head. There is an entire chapter devoted to Scarlett's love of her physical anatomy. Her tone of voice is whiny and irritating. The only possibly interesting point of this novel is the attempted insight into the psychology of female friendships - from Scarlett's inability to break things off with Pam due to fear of loneliness to Scarlett's unwillingness to befriend someone better looking than her at work. However, the author disappoints in her attempt at exploring the nature of physical beauty and its effects in female friendships. This novel attempts to uncover the shallowness of men, but the effort backfires. The women swear extensively and crudely, drink excessively, have risky one-night stands, and back stab each other. If the men in the novel behaved the way the women do they would be considered the worst kind of pigs.
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Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
By Beth Fantaskey
Harcourt, 2009. 354 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Jessica Packwood was adopted and raised by two peace loving vegans. She lives on an organic farm and attends Woodrow Wilson High School. Jessica’s world is shattered when immediately before her eighteenth birthday a handsome young Romanian named Lucius Vladescu shows up at her doorstep. Jessica’s parents neglected to tell her that her birth parents were vampire royalty. Her real name is Antanasia. Jessica has been engaged to Lucius since her birth in order to join two powerful vampire clans together. Jessica is horrified by the concept of an arranged marriage but soon learns that if she doesn’t marry there will be an epic vampire war with many innocent casualties. Jessica can’t help but be attracted to certain noble qualities that Lucius possesses. But she understandingly doesn’t want her future life mapped out for her. Lucius, on the other hand, enjoys the freedom of America a bit too much when he starts dating the local alpha cheerleader and earns the wrath of his vampire guardians.

The book title is taken from a guide Lucius gives Jessica called, “Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions.” This contrast between teenage reality and the absurd provides much of the humor in Fantaskey’s novel. However, I found the tone to be uneven. It shifted between light comedy and romance to darker violence. There is also a large amount of sensuality in the novel. It was not as light a read as the cover and title may suggest. But it was refreshing and different to read something that had some unexpected plot twists. Fantaskey definitely leaves the plot wide open so she can write a sequel.

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Deep in the Heart of Trouble

Deep in the Heart of Trouble
By Deanne Gist
Bethany House, 2008. 395 pages. Romance

Tony Morgan expects to inherit his family’s oil business. Instead when Tony’s father dies, Tony is completely disinherited. Left with nothing he decides to start at the bottom of a competitor’s oil business and learn the ropes. Tony travels to Corsicana, Texas where he meets Essie Spreckelmeyer. He soon learns that she is the business mind behind her father’s oil company. Tony is both attracted to Essie and frustrated by her antics. Essie is independent minded, vivacious and eccentric. Disappointed by a previous failed romance she has decided not to marry. Rather, Essie focuses her considerable energies on managing her father’s business and the Velocipede Club she has founded. Tony and Essie learn to trust each other and compromise as they both manage their business interests and fall in love.

Essie Spreckelmeyer is a character introduced by Deanne Gist in her previous novel, Courting Trouble. This is a case where the sequel is better than the original. Gist has the opportunity to delve into the lives of the town's idiosyncratic supporting characters. They lend humor and personality to the novel. Although this is a Christian Romance the sermonizing is kept to a minimum. Unlike the first book it is written from Tony’s point of view. It is interesting to view Essie and the town of Corsicana from a different perspective. The romance is believable and it is interesting to learn about the early years of oil drilling in Texas.

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Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Bk 1)
By Richelle Mead
Razorbill, 2007. 332 pages. Young Adult

Rose and Lissa are best friends and have been on the run from St. Vladimir’s Academy for several years. Lissa is a Moroi vampire princess and orphan. Rose is a dhampir guardian (half-human, half-vampire), and is psychically linked to Lissa. When Rose and Lissa are forced to return to their school they must contend with regular class work in addition to vampire politics and death threats. Rose is assigned a dhampir mentor named Dimitri who helps her learn to fight the Strigoi. Dimitri, a stoic Russian, happens to be handsome, a brutal fighter, and only a handful of years older than Rose. Rose finds herself attracted and fascinated by her teacher. Rose help Lissa temper her mercurial moods while Lissa deals with her emerging vampire gifts.

As I started this novel I felt I had missed something because Mead doesn’t give any back information as to why Rose and Lissa are not at St. Vladimir’s Academy. Also, Mead starts writing the novel without much explanation about Morois, Dhampirs, and Strigois, the different types of mortal and immortal vampires and half-vampires in her world. The explanations eventually do come. Nevertheless, the setting blends contemporary and fantasy worlds seamlessly. Mead’s writing is strong and the reader is compelled to make a judgment about Rose, the primary character. She leaps off the page as a loyal friend but flawed and impulsive teenager. She is an anti-Bella, intensely aggressive and proactive in her actions. This is an edgier vampire teen read, with both vulgar language and sexual situations.

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The Carousel Painter

The Carousel Painter
By Judith Miller
Bethany House, 2006. 335 pgs. Romance

Carrington Brouwer, an American, lives in Paris with her father while he teaches art lessons to young debutantes. When Carrington’s father dies she has nowhere to go and relies on the generosity of a previous student, Augusta Galloway. Augusta invites Carrington to live with her in Ohio. However, when Carrington arrives it is clear Augusta’s highbrow mother is furious with the plan. Augusta’s father owns a factory that produces carousel horses. He agrees to let Carrington work there as a painter, even though she will be the only woman working at the factory. Carrington moves to a different part of town from the Galloways and lives in a boarding house. While struggling to support herself she also tries to impress Josef Kaestner, the young German manager of the factory.

It is clear Judith Miller did detailed research about the time period before she wrote this Christian historical romance that is set during the year of 1890. The most interesting part of the novel is reading about the class distinctions of the time and comparing them to our own society now. Aside from the historical atmosphere I found the novel to be an unexceptional example of the genre. There is an formulaic evil suitor and inferior crime sub-plot. Instead of having Biblical teachings be a part of the natural ebb and flow of plot and characterization they come across as klutzy. Readers might try Tamera Alexander or Deeanne Gist instead.

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Prada & Prejudice

Prada & Prejudice
By Mandy Hubbard
Penguin Group, 2009. 238 pages. Young Adult

Fifteen year old Callie’s best friend has moved away and as a result Callie feels lost in school. She outwardly mocks the in-crowd but secretly desires to be a part of it. Callie takes a school trip to London, ostensibly to pad her college applications, but in reality to ingratiate herself into a top clique. Once there Callie still feels awkward, and in a desperate bid to win popularity buys a pair of exorbitantly priced Prada shoes. Walking on cobblestones in high heels proves disastrous and Callie falls and takes a hard hit to the head. When she wakes up it is 1815. Luckily Callie finds shelter in the mansion of Lord Alexander Thorton-Hawke, the Duke of Harsbury, and finds a friend in his cousin Emily. The Duke happens to be young, rich, and handsome. Callie thinks he is overbearing and pompous. The Duke thinks Callie is too outspoken.

This is a light variation of the Austen time travel genre. It is chick lit for the teen set, similar in tone to Meg Cabot and Sophie Kinsella. There are funny and awkward moments for Callie as she chafes under nineteenth century restrictions and swoons over Lord Alexander’s pretty eyes and tight fitting jackets. Although readers might be slightly put off by Callie’s shallowness (she’s in London and all she cares about is Prada?) they will also relate to her desire to have a friend and be confident in herself.

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Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie
By Maggie Stiefvater
Llewellyn Publications, 2009. 352 pages. Young Adult

James Morgan is a prodigiously talented musician who attends the Thornking-Ash School of Music with his best friend Deirdre. He has long been harboring an unrequited crush on Dee who is beautiful, mournful, and sees Faeries. James is tired of pining after Dee and bored with the conservatory. Nuala is an alluring faerie muse who sets her sights on James. As she states at the beginning of the novel, “I liked them young, talented, male. The more handsome the better.” Nuala sucks the life force out of her victims while at the same time inspiring them to be creative geniuses. Due to his previous experiences with faeries James is the first mortal to say no to Nuala’s bargain. However, as Dee pines for a lost boyfriend and behaves in an increasingly bizarre manner James turns to Nuala for friendship. James soon learns that both Dee and Nuala are in danger from the new Queen of the Fey.

James only plays a minor, albeit charming, role in the first Faerie novel Lament. I was happy to see an entire book devoted to him in Ballad. James is the driving force behind this novel which doesn’t focus as much on plot as the characters. James is skittish, eccentric, artistic and a rebel. Although I didn’t personally like this novel as much as Lament I still enjoyed inhabiting Stiefvater’s edgy supernatural world for the hours it took me to read the book. I would recommend reading Lament before Ballad.

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The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty
By Jenny Han
Simon & Schuster, 2009. 276 p. Young Adult

Isabel, nicknamed Belly, truly lives for the summer time. Not just like every other fifteen year old kid yearns for summer vacation. All other seasons - fall, winter, spring, are just time to pass until she can return to the beach house, and more importantly, the brothers Jeremiah and Conrad. Every summer Isabel, with her mom and brother Steven, go to the beach house of her Mom’s wealthy best friend Susannah. Susannah is the mother of Jeremiah and Conrad who have been everything to Isabel – annoyances, friends, brothers, and crushes. Belly has long fought to be included in the trio of three older boys on equal footing. Perhaps it is only then, she feels, that Conrad will take her seriously. Since she was small Belly has nursed an obsession with him and longs for a reciprocal relationship. His increasing moodiness however, has turned her attentions away from him and towards fun loving Jeremiah. The instant the brothers notice her this summer Belly knows it will be different, because this is the summer she has turned pretty.

Author Jenny Han has her master’s degree in Creative Writing for children. As a result the writing is above average and capably describes a coming-of-age summer. The teenagers in this novel must decipher the adults around them while trying to sort out their changing relationships with each other. Belly must learn how to discriminate between feelings of love, lust, infatuation and friendship as she copes with the attention she now attracts from boys. Although there are many books with similar themes Han’s writing approaches them with a realism and subtlety similar to Sarah Dessen.

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As You Wish

As You Wish
By Jackson Pearce
HarperCollins, 2009. 298 pages
Young Adult Fiction

Viola, an artist, would rather sit back and watch her high school peers than interact with them. In particular, Viola is entranced by the beautiful and popular set that she calls, “royalty.” Viola is still devastated by her breakup with her hot best friend Lawrence, who is now part of the royal group. Ever since Lawrence surprised everyone, especially Viola, by announcing his homosexuality his popularity has soared. While sitting in English class one day Viola wishes she didn’t feel invisible. A beautiful young man with dark curls appears to grant her wish. Jinn comes from Caliban, a world where there is no individuality or love. When summoned by a human he must grant three wishes and then return rapidly to Caliban or die. However, Viola doesn’t want to make the wrong three wishes. As Jinn is stuck in Earth, chained to his “master”, he and Viola have long conversations. Eventually Viola wonders if she really wants her wishes granted and Jinn to return to Caliban.

Although there is some cleverness in this novel Jackson Pearce is a young author. The primary character, Viola, doesn’t feel she will be complete or belong to anything unless she has an extraordinary boyfriend. To her credit, the author does have Viola eventually speculate on why she feels so hollow in the first place. But I felt like Pearce’s answers to Viola’s problems were too shallow and based on the philosophy that a boy will solve a girl's problems. That said, the characters were mostly likable. In addition, Pearce does write some discerning dialogue about the difference between what we wish for, and what desire that wish really represents.

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Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life

Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life
By Alison Gopnik
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. 288 pages. Nonfiction

Gopnik begins this fascinating work by reviewing the place of infants and young children in philosophical literature and how it has radically changed from the days of Jean Piaget and Sigmund Freud. The field of cognitive science is exploding as new advances in science and technology make us rethink time honored traditions about how the mind works. Gopnik takes the viewpoint of an evolutionary biologist as she tries to answer fundamental philosophical questions about how babies’ minds develop. Gopnik also emphasizes the difference between the minds of adults and children. Babies, of course, are more impressionable and pliable and that has advantages and disadvantages. Adults have more neural pathways that are specific and specialized which allow us to focus on tasks. To prove her point Gopnik describes watching a three year old try to get dressed, everything from the color of his socks to a speck of dusk on the carpet can be distracting. Gopnik and others in her field have even done experiments which prove that babies use types of statistical analysis and are even capable of pretend thinking, or to coin her more scientific turn of phrase, “counterfactual thinking.”

This was an absorbing read although it was definitely a jargon heavy book. At times I felt as if I was reading an especially interesting textbook. I enjoyed the fact that Alison Gopnik is a mother of three children and thus brought in various personal anecdotes to prove her points. Her enthusiasm for the subject shines through. In a way it was amusing to read about scientists validating what mothers have known for years, babies really are smart.

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Courting Trouble

Courting Trouble
By Deanne Gist
Bethany House Publishers, 2007. 330 pages. Romance

Esther Spreckelmeyer hates her last name and the annual 4th of July town picnic where she feels like everyone in the world goes by two by two, except her. At age thirty in 1894 Corsicana, Texas, Esther is considered long past the marriageable age. Exasperated with her situation, Esther makes a list of all the eligible bachelors in town and decides to court them herself. Many of the people in town think Esther is a little too much. Esther has a penchant for wearing flamboyant hats and riding her modern bicycle through the main streets of town. Although Esther thinks all men are blind to her charms, three different men are indeed interested: Hamilton Crook, a shop owner, who runs from her bold advances, Adam Currington, a handsome blond and blue-eyed drifter, and Ewing Wortham, former childhood best friend. Esther is naive about men, having been sheltered from them most of her life by her influential judge father. As a consequence, her dealings with them range from the comedic to the tragic.

This novel is different from Deanne Gist’s other works. It is more heavy-handed in its Christian themes. The novel is less a straightforward romance and more of an exploration of Esther’s life journey. Also, there is no dramatic, stand-out male hero. I felt like although Esther’s personality certainly is exuberant, she is slightly less complex than some of Gist’s other protagonists. To be fair, this is the first of a two part series. The second book is titled, “Deep in the Heart of Trouble”, where I’m sure Esther will learn from the mistakes she made in the first novel.

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Birth Day

Birth Day: A Pediatrician Explore the Science, the History and the Wonder of Childbirth
By Mark Sloan
Ballantine Books, 2009. 370 pages. Nonfiction

Although the author, Mark Sloan, practices pediatrics, not obstetrics, he writes about childbirth with wonderful insight and compassion. Dr. Sloan has helped deliver more than 3,000 babies. In addition, he is an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco. It is easy to believe because the book is written in the informative, easy going manner of a favorite college professor. The book is divided into several sections that cover: being born, pain and politics, significant others, and looking at babies. The author approaches the possibly offensive path of writing about childbirth from a man’s perspective with an easy, self-defacing humor. He often cites experiences with patients or his wife Elizabeth. Often authors fall into the trap of being either too clinical or maudlin when describing the intricacies of birth, but Sloan does an excellent job of capturing its wonders. He writes from both a scientific point of view and a personal one. I especially enjoyed the section on the first precarious five minutes of life - when baby transforms from fetus to an air breathing human.

Although I've delivered three children I still learned from this book. This is a wonderful resource for both men and women to read. It might be especially applicable before an impending birth. I agree with the authors advice on preparing for labor. You have to be flexible and prepared for different options and put people you love near you to help out.

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Need

Need
By Carrie Jones
Bloomsbury, 2009. 306 pages. Young Adult

Zara White is obsessed with phobias ever since her beloved step-father died in front of her. She feels knowledge of her fears will help her cope with them. To help Zara deal with her grief Zara's mother sends her to live with her grandmother in Maine. Zara hates cold, snowy Maine until she meets Issie, her boyfriend Devyn, and their gorgeous friend Nick. Nick immediately befriends Zara although she wonders at his overly protective attitude. After her arrival in Maine Zara suspects a man is stalking her, a man who leaves gold dust in his wake. She believes he is a pixie and for some reason her friends believe her. In addition, several young men from the community have gone missing. Zara tries to unravel the mysterious occurrences and at the same time learns a startling secret about her own past.

The tone of Need is set immediately by both the title and Zara’s internal musings about life’s unfairness. The stark and dangerous landscape of icy Maine provides a classic backdrop for the suspenseful plot. The serious flirtation between Zara and Nick adds to the story as Nick is superlative high school boyfriend material. Fans of Twilight will like this quick read. The ending certainly leaves room for a sequel.

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The Measure of a Lady

The Measure of a Lady
By Deanne Gist
Walker Large Print. 2007. 503 pages. Historical Fiction.

Rachel van Buren is literally stuck in 1849 Gold Rush San Francisco when her father unexpectedly dies on the passage there. Her father was hoping to make his fortune and described the streets as paved with gold. The streets, however, are paved with mud. There are no ships leaving the harbor as all the men have jumped ship in an effort to find their fortunes. There are no places for Rachel and her younger teenage sister Lissie, and brother Michael to stay. Johnnie Park, a disillusioned former missionary, who runs the City Hotel saloon and gambling hall, takes pity on the three orphans and allows them to stay with him. Rachel soon discovers that the wild west of San Francisco has a much different moral climate from her hometown. There are no “proper” ladies in the town of San Francisco. All the “sunbonnets”, as they are called, are in the mining camps with their husbands. As Rachel and Johnnie fall in love, almost against their wills, Rachel must reexamine her ideas about morality and right and wrong.

This novel received the Christy Award for excellence in Christian Fiction. In addition to being a step above most Christian Fiction, there are also many interesting historical tidbits about San Francisco. I found the descriptions of the complexities of relationships to be above average, particularly as Rachel battles wills with her beautiful and rebellious younger sister Lissa. The romance is genuine and not forced.

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The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle

Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle
L.J. Smith
Harper Teen, 1991. 492 pages. Young Adult

Beautiful, orphaned Elena is the queen of her high school in Fells Church, Virginia. But after summer vacation everything changes. Elena’s best friend Caroline becomes her rival for popularity and her sunny all American boyfriend Matt is replaced by the mysterious Italian Stefan Salvatore. Stefan is dark and handsome and reveals a good deal of insight about the Italian Renaissance in seventh period history class. In the first volume, The Awakening, there is a grisly murder in the Elena’s quiet town. Stefan suspects the culprit may be his dangerous older brother Damon seeking revenge. Stefan and Damon were once rivals for their first love Katherine’s heart. In the quest to win Katherine both Stefan and Damon were changed into creatures of the night. Stefan resists his morbid lifestyle but Damon relishes the power and blood lust. As the brothers stumble upon Elena they are staggered by her uncanny resemblance to long dead Katherine.

In the second volume, The Struggle, both brothers court Elena in different ways and with a different end in mind for her. Elena and Caroline continue to plot and scheme against one another with consequences that may affect Stefan and his ability to live innocently among the mortals of Fells Church.

There are a surprising amount of similarities between the Vampire Diaries and Twilight. Vampire Diaries was written before Twilight and Stephenie Meyer claims not to have read any vampire fiction before she wrote her epic series. Even though Elena is self-centered and a stereotypical high school notable, she is a natural leader and more game than passive Bella. I enjoyed Elena as a leading character better than Bella. In addition, there is actual high school business in this novel. This novel is a lot cleaner than many other Urban Fantasies that have been released lately. Maybe Twilight meets Buffy meets Gossip Girl? I look forward to reading the inevitable conclusion.

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Redeeming Love

Redeeming Love
By Francine Rivers
Recorded Books, 1997. Book on Tape. Romance

Redeeming Love is a Christian historical romance. Francine Rivers reinterprets the biblical story of Hosea and sets the story in the gold rush of California, in the late 1850s. The story is told from the perspective of beautiful Angel, a young jaded prostitute. Sold as a child, Angel hates and distrusts all men. Michael Hosea is virtuous and handsome young farmer. He is told by God to marry Angel, the “soiled dove.” Only after Angel tries to leave her life of prostitution and is beaten to the point of death does she agree. Michael patiently teaches Angel to live a normal life and learn to love and trust again. Angel has difficulty in all her relationships, as a friend, neighbor, and wife.

This novel is much deeper and thoughtful than one might think at first glance. The psychology is legitimate and faithful to the horrors of Angel’s early life. Although this book could be categorized as a romance due to Michael and Angel’s relationship, it is certainly not the story of a life romanticized. There are adult themes in the novel dealing with child prostitution and incest. However, the spiritual themes of love and forgiveness are beautifully portrayed. I am glad I listened to this as a recording. The only drawback was that sometimes I didn’t know if a character’s dialogue was a thought process or spoken aloud. Because I listened to this and it went more slowly, I became profoundly involved with the plot and agonized and rejoiced right along with all the characters.

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