The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - A Review

The Raven Boys is a paranormal mystery with a twist.  I loved this book!  I couldn’t put it down once I started reading; I think I finished it in record time.  It was a bit confusing at the very beginning when the characters were being introduced but that only added to the surprises that happened later in the book.  I loved the characters, they all had such depth.  I hope this is a series because I want to read more about them.  The story focuses around Blue, who is the daughter of a psychic.  The Raven Boys opens with Blue and Neeve, a friend of Blue’s Mom’s.  They are sitting in a church graveyard waiting for something.  The reader finds out that they are waiting for the spirits of the people who will be dead within the next year to appear. 

Blue doesn’t usually see the dead, but this time is different.  She sees a boy about her age.  This is the first time she has ever seen a spirit in the many years she’s been coming to the graveyard.  The boy goes to a private school in her home town and usually those boys are rich snobs.  The locals call those boys The Raven Boys, hence the name of the book.  Blue is intrigued by the fact that she was able to see the boy and Neeve tells her that the only reason she would be able to see him would be that she would be the one who kills him, or he’s her true love.  Then of course Blue meets the mystery boy and his friends and learns that he is searching for something and has been for a very long time. He’s looking for a king who was supposedly buried someplace near the town and is obsessed with finding him for his own reasons.  There’s a tiny little bit of romance in this one but not enough to make those who don’t like that kind of stuff squirm.  I have to rate this one a 5 star book. 

The Kill Order by James Dashner - A Review

This prequel to The Maze Runner series begins just after the solar flares hit the Earth.  It’s the story of the survival of the human race after those flares, and the beginning of what would become the sickness known as The Flare.  The Kill Order was just as fast paced as the Maze Runner books, keeping the reader turning pages as fast as he/she could read them.  There was a lot of action, but some emotional roller-coasters as well.  There were some heartbreaking moments and some unbelievably cruel moments.  This is sure to be just as popular as the series was.  Excellent story, I had hoped that the main characters were immune to the Flare, but it made it all that more real and heartbreaking that they weren’t.  Mr. Dashner did a very good job of describing the feelings and emotions the characters were having while they were slipping into the insanity of the Flare disease.  This one is a solid 5 star book.

Tap Out by Eric Divine - Review

Tap Out by Eric Divine

Tap Out is about life in a trailer park.  It’s heartbreakingly realistic, from the foul language and drug use to the unreported rapes and whore houses.  It’s the story of a young man named Tony and his life of trouble.  Tony’s mom is an alcoholic and recovering drug addict who loves all the wrong men.  Her latest is a real piece of cake, beating and eventually putting her into the hospital.  When Tony tries to stand up to the scum bag, he ends up being beat almost senseless himself.  Tony is very smart, but feels trapped in the trailer park where he lives.  He is forced to deal crank by the neighboring gangs and has little hope of improving his circumstances.  The only good thing in Tony’s life is a mixed martial arts class he is coerced into joining by his best friend Rob.  In this class he learns how to fight and how to defend himself, and when to ‘tap out’ or give in.  He doesn’t really do a lot of ‘Tapping Out’ but the title fits the book well.  After more and more setbacks it seems that he might eventually have a slim shot at getting out of the park but to get there a lot has to happen and he ends up losing a lot, including his best friend.  I had a very hard time finishing this book, in fact I skipped ahead to the last few chapters once I was about half way in.  The writing was good, the story and plot were decent, it just wasn’t my kind of book.  This one will be popular with older teen boys, especially reluctant readers.  I would not put this in a school library but perhaps the adult section of a public library because of the language.  While very realistic and modern, the language will cause problems with some parents.