Ratings Explanation

Language:  There are a couple of instances of name calling.

Violence:  Elijah is chased by something unknown.  Elijah’s whole family is killed.  Elijah is hit across the face by the chancellor and then hit across his hands with a stick that has thorns on it.  He bleeds.  Someone is trying to whip Samuel.  Samuel mentions that he has been hit before.  Someone almost falls over a ledge but is rescued.  Something is trying to get Elijah.  Samuel is kidnapped and Elijah’s room is thrashed.  A guard is hit and is knocked unconscious.  Hannah is kidnapped and the ropes that bind her hands tear into her skin.  A Maliphist sends lightning and knocks kids off their horse.  One kid is knocked unconscious.  The earth rumbles and breaks apart causing the Maliphists to fall in.  Elijah breaks into a prison, is caught and hit across face.  There is a chase.  The Maliphists and Magi have an encounter using elements to fight each other.  Elijah’s uncle was tortured in prison.

Sexual Content:  A young child is running around naked.

Adult Themes:  Elijah’s family is killed and his Uncle is missing, leaving him alone.  Samuel’s family doesn’t care about him.  Maliphists prey on young boys with problems.

Synopsis

After witnessing his family’s murders, thirteen-year-old Elijah Hawk is left alone, confused and scared.  His instincts saved him, but he couldn’t save his family.  Now he senses someone or something is still after him, someone other than the detective hauling him away to some far-off boarding school.  Through a kind and patient professor, Elijah learns of a new world of people and powers unlike any he has ever known.  The Magi take Elijah in and begin to teach him of their ways.  But, another group of people, the Malaphists, demand that Elijah be theirs and they will stop at nothing to get to him.  When two of Elijah’s friends are taken in place of him, he knows he must do something.  He cannot continue to let people suffer because of him.  But what can one thirteen-year-old kid do?

The Magi was a pleasure to read from beginning to end.  A couple of times I completely forgot I was reviewing because I was so caught up in the book.  There were so many great things to love about this book.  I appreciated the “clean” nature of this book.  There was no swearing or sexual situations that would make me hesitant to pass this book on to my kids.  It was filled with growing relationships of friendship, action and suspense.  Here is my favorite quote from the book.  ”The soul is the fingerprint of the Creator.  Once a soul connects to another soul, they unite and become one.  So if your soul is able to access the soul of an element, you can control that element the same way you would control your own body.”  Cool.  This is a family friendly book for all ages.  My thanks to Kevin Turner for offering this book to me for review.  I’ll be looking forward to the next installment!

Ratings Explanation

Language: Mostly name calling and belittling.

Violence: Scientific-type experiments on animals and humans, including children. Some die from the effects of the experiment. The elixir gives them super strength, alters their physical appearance, and takes over their minds. Several attempts to kill and several murders committed. Fighting with fists and weapons.

Sexual Content: Modo blushes at the sight of Octavia. He is amazed at how beautiful she is. While climbing down a sewer, Octavia removes her dress exposing her Victorian type underclothing so that she can move around more easily. Modo doesn’t quite know how to handle that.

Adult Content: Modo is born a deformed child and given away. He ends up traveling with a freak show. Children are kidnapped to became part of a huge scientific experiment. Modo tries to find love and acceptance in his strange life. He desires to be part of a family.

Synopsis

Modo was born an ugly, deformed child and was given away to a traveling freak show. He was discovered and purchased while still an infant by Mr. Socrates. The man noticed that Modo had the unusual ability to transform himself. Unbeknownst to Modo, Socrates raised and trained him to become a Secret Agent for the Permanent Association. When Modo turns fourteen, he is given his first assignment in London to discover the purposes of a science society club and its connection with the disappearances of several street children. During his investigation, Modo discovers another secret agent, Octavia Milkweed, who is also working for the Permanent Association. They get more than they bargained for when they stumble across the Clockwork Guild in the depths of London’s sewers. This evil, secret organization has enlisted the help of a mad, brilliant scientist who is able to harness amazing strength from ordinary animals and human beings with his elixir. The Clockwork Guild has plans to use this discovery to destroy the British government. Octavio and Modo scale the roof tops and explore the sewers in an attempt to save their country.

I really liked this book. It was a great mix of adventure and intrigue with a hint of romance. Modo’s character is fascinating. He is an interesting mix of strength, intelligence, adventure and compassion. I’m excited to see how he develops throughout the other books of the series. I also loved the author’s use of the descriptive language. I even learned a few new words. A great read for an adventure and mystery lover.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  No swear words, but typical middle school name-calling and language (shut up, jerk, poop, fartface, bejeezus).

Violence:  A boy gets beaten up by a school bully.

Sexual Content:  A boy and girl kiss. Some hand-holding as kids pair up at the school dance.

Adult Themes:  Underage kids sneak into an R-rated movie.  Some kids cheat on a pop quiz.

Synopsis

Tommy is a sixth-grader at McQuarrie Middle School with the usual circle of dorky friends. One friend in particular, Dwight (generally considered the weirdest boy in school), comes to school one day with an origami puppet of Yoda on his finger. If that isn’t strange enough, Dwight tells everyone to talk to Yoda and ask him for advice. Then Dwight responds in Yoda-like language (“Ask him, you must. Wise, Yoda is.”) Even Tommy asks Yoda the burning question on his mind–should he or should he not ask Sara to dance at the PTA Fun Night? Soon the most interesting things begin to happen, and everyone is beginning to believe that Origami Yoda might, in fact, possess magical Jedi wisdom. But how can this be, when Dwight himself is so socially inept? Tommy decides to get to the bottom of it all by interviewing everyone at school about their experiences with Origami Yoda’s advice and compiling the scientific evidence. Underneath all the humorous first-person accounts with Yoda and silly doodles in the margin is a story designed to unravel the biggest mystery of all:  how to navigate the awkward waters of middle school social life.

Even if Star Wars was never your thing, it would be hard to resist the sage words of Origami Yoda and the adolescent voices that recount them.  This book will likely be compared to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series–similar target audience and artwork–but with a very different twist, and minus the gastric distress humor (hallelujah!).  Surely the world could do with fewer jokes about potty humor and bodily functions in the hands of 12- and 13-year old boys. Origami Yoda is a refreshing change of pace that will keep your son (or daughter) laughing.  This book has a sequel, Darth Paper Strikes Back: an Origami Yoda Book.

Ratings Explanation

Violence:  There is some brief fighting between two characters although it is contrived to be a distraction.

Sexual Content:  There are a couple brief, innocent kisses.

Adult Themes:  Katarina is 15 years old, living and traveling on her own, accountable to no one.  She is a thief and comes from a whole family of thieves.  She continually puts herself in dangerous situations.  Katarina’s mother passed away when she was very young.

Synopsis

After pulling off one of the biggest heists ever at one of the world’s most famous museums, Katarina Bishop’s name is becoming something big in the world of thieves.  When she is approached by a woman with a compelling story and a name that means something, Katarina accepts one of the biggest and most deadly of tasks; to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald.  Many have tried to steal the emerald, but all have failed because with the Emerald comes a curse.

Katarina soon finds herself in over her head.  None of the old family tricks are going to work and it is up to Katarina and crew to figure out how to play with a whole new set of rules.

I found this book to be very enjoyable.  It was fast paced, easy reading.  Katarina is operating on the high of success as a one woman show, but by the end of the book she realizes that she is better with the family and friends that support and love her than she is without them.  This book is labeled YA.  It was a clean, fun read.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There are frequent exclamations involving Deity (God, Lord), frequent uses of mild swearing (hell, damn, ass) and one instance of the “B” word.  Terms such as slut and hag are also used.

Violence:  A young girl is drunk and attacks another girl.  There is pushing and hitting and someone says, “Kick the crap out of her.”  Ethan is in a surfing accident and has to have stitches in his head.  Marina cuts up her feet when sleepwalking outside and also needs medical care and stitches.  Sea lions attack Marina, hurting her.   Mermaids force Marina under water and strip her naked.

Sexual Content:  Marina observes a guy take his shirt off saying he is equal to any underwear model she has ever seen.  There is a mermaid who is naked on the top, revealing her breasts.  There are several instances of kissing.  Marina’s aunt slept with a married man and got pregnant.  Aunt Abby sleeps with Ethan’s dad.  Mermaids tear away Marina’s clothing until she is stripped naked.  Ethan sleeps in the bed with Marina although nothing happens.

Adult Themes:  Cruz deals with never knowing who his father is.  There is a scene in the books with a psychic.  There is also underage drinking and aggression.

Synopsis

Marina has spent most of her life traveling the world with her scientist dad.  Life has been good and Marina has no complaints until her father tells her she is going to stay with her aunt and attend a public school for the first time in her life while he leaves for a year to work on his own.  Aptos, California is a beach town full of surfers and sunshine.  Marina has no idea how this move will change her whole life.  After nearly drowning, not once, but twice, Marina takes swimming and surfing lessons from Ethan, the hottest guy in town.  Marina feels herself drawn to the ocean and to Ethan.  One grounds her and makes her feel safe, the other torments her, even in her dreams.

If you love paranormal romance with a bit of action thrown in, this could just be the book for you.  If you love mermaid tales, you will enjoy this.  I wouldn’t say I’m a paranormal romance junkie or a mermaid lover either, but who doesn’t love a book that can pull you in and entertain you?  That’s what this book was for me.  It took me a bit to get into this book, but when I did, it was sure hard to pull me out.  This is an ebook available on Amazon and Smashwords.  This is a YA book, which I would keep to the upper end of that range.  My thanks to Derrolyn for sending me her book to read and review.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  There are a couple exclamations of Deity.

Violence:  There are several burglaries in Beverly Hills.  A purse is stolen from a party.  Sherry joins up with the band of robbers to get more information and help police catch them.

Sexual Content:  Sherry and Josh are boyfriend/girlfriend until they break up.  There is hand holding.

Adult Themes:  Sherry communicates with her “ghost” mom who has died, as well as other ghosts.  She is the only one who can hear them.

Synopsis

Her name is Sherlock Holmes Baldwin.  No, really.  But most everyone calls her Sherry.  And she really does have a knack for solving mysteries.  In this fourth installment of the series, Sherry is headed to Hollywood.  Her essay on love has won the grand prize from Hollywood Girl magazine and Sherry has won an all expense paid trip to Hollywood.  A dream come true for any thirteen year old.  Within a day of arriving, Sherry stumbles upon a mystery.  A purse is stolen right out from underneath their noses and the suspects are the same ones who have been burglarizing the homes of young Hollywood celebrities.  With the help of Sherry’s best friend Junie, and Leah, a new ghost on the scene, Sherry puts her mind to solving the million dollar mystery.

This was a cute book and I really enjoyed reading it.  It was fun and light.  Sherry is an active, curious character who loves solving mysteries.  The story had a good flow to it and made me smile.  My favorite line from the book was, “she’s pretty old, like forty.”  HA!  (while I’m not forty YET, I’m closer to that age if we are rounding!)  Sherry sure seemed to have a lot of free reign for a thirteen year old girl, especially in LA where things can get a bit rough.  I know I wouldn’t allow my thirteen year old girl to romp through the streets of LA, day and night, unsupervised.  This book has a marketed reading level of ages 9-12 which I would agree with.

Language:  Every swear word, with the exception of the F-word, is used in this book, multiple times.  Hells and Damns are used frequently and in various forms.  Exclamations involving Deity are used frequently as well.  Words such as piss, suck, prick, and pervert are also used.  There are a couple instances of someone flipping someone else off.

Violence:  Nick is verbally and physically tormented at school.  Nick wants out of the “hell hole” he is living in, even if he has to kill someone to do it.  Nick gets into a fight at school.  Some boys attack tourists and try to rob them.  They turn on Nick and beat him up.  One boy has a gun.  Someone else shows up and attacks the boys, saving Nick.  At school, a kid attacks another kid.  He tries to eat him.  There are many, many scenes of different people/creatures fighting zombies.  These generally involve weapons (gun, ax, cattle prod, rod, knife) and moves such as hitting, kicking, head butting, biting, throwing against the wall, choking and killing.  There is always blood and gore involved.  There is a car accident and people are hurt.  A young boy and his mother are kidnapped and held hostage.

Sexual Content:  Nick is called Nick the Dick or dickless Nicholas.  Nick’s mother is an “exotic dancer”.  Someone tells Nick he saw his mother naked last night, shaking her butt with money in her G-string.  When Nick sees the other dancers, he thinks it’s like seeing his sister naked.  Nick meets a girl with “curves”.  Every hormone was firing in his body.  A girl talks to Nick “almost spilling her breasts onto the glass top”.  Nick tries to keep his eyes on her face instead of her breasts, but tries to get a better look at her shapely butt.  Nick comments that steroids make your penis shrink.  Nick says marriage leads to one thing – lots of naked party time.  Nick suggests that two men are “special friends”.  Nick says he doesn’t want to die a virgin, so at least let him get laid first.  Nick talks about finding some cheap ho’s.  A young boy says that when you get older you grow hair in weird places.  Someone says, “I’ll wipe my boots on your balls.”  There is a kiss.

Adult Themes:  Nick is the victim of severe bullying at school.  Nick’s mother dropped out of school because she was pregnant.  She is an “exotic dancer” at a club.  Nick’s father is in prison for multiple murders and he has always been verbally abusive to Nick.

Synopsis

Sarcastic, quick- witted Nick Gautier thinks he knows pretty much everything about the world going on around him.  At fourteen, he’s had his share of hard knocks.  With his dad in prison, his mother working as an exotic dancer, and barely bringing in enough money to feed them, Nick knows plenty about being poor and doing without.  At school he is constantly bullied by kids who think they are better than him because they have money and status.  Nick knows how to be tough.  Then weird things start happening, like one of the kids at school tries to eat another kid.  The world Nick thinks he knows is only the surface of what is really out there.  As he quickly learns, looks can be deceiving and things are not always what they seem.

There are a few things I liked in this book.  I enjoyed the dry sarcasm Nick had.  It was quirky and often funny.  I liked the idea of paying forward the kindnesses you receive, especially if you are in a position to help others.  I could relate to a mother who loved her son and wanted better for him that what she was dealt in life.  Past that, for me, this was a read I endured.  I’m not a fan of zombie books, so it didn’t have much appeal to me.  I felt like for most of the book that I was missing out on something.  This series is a prequel to Kenyon’s adult Dark Hunter series, which I haven’t read.  I’m pretty sure that’s why I always felt like I didn’t really know some things that were going on that I should have.  Booklist gives this YA book a recommended reading level of 7^th-12^th grade.  Based on the content listed above, I would recommend 18+.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Some name calling like pig, punk, and knucklehead are used.  Some references to cursing like, “a steady stream of Blond Guy’s shrieked curses.”

Violence:  Charlie is ordered to be shot.  He dreams of his karate teacher hitting him repeatedly.  Charlie was convicted of killing his best friend and sent to prison but he escapes.  There is a fight and Charlie hits a guy and is then zapped by drone one.  Charlie is kicked.  There is another fight where Charlie kicks the gun out of someone’s hand.  There is punching, kicking and choking.  Charlie is handcuffed to a chair and given an injection.  He experiences pain and agony.  Charlie finds blood on the floor and then Waterman lying dead in his blood.  He is trying to escape before a bomb goes off.  Charlie uses a robot (M2) to zap a guard and drop tear gas on another group of guards.  There is a chase and guns are fired.  Charlie is backhanded in the head.  He hits a guy and uses him as a human shield.  There is more fighting, chasing and gunfire.  Men are shot and die after a car chase with police.  Homelanders invade a house and there is shooting.  Police shoot and kill men.  Charlie is taken away handcuffed by police.

Sexual Content:  Charlie remembers kissing his girlfriend.

Adult Themes:  Patriotism and terrorism are the main themes of this book.  There are references to torture that happened in a previous book, and fear of it happening again.

Synopsis

Charlie West is your average American teenage guy, doing typical teenage things:  going to high school, having a girlfriend and hanging out with friends.  When Charlie’s best friend is found dead, unbelievable things start happening and Charlie finds himself agreeing to be a part of a plan to infiltrate a group of terrorists.  In this, the third book in the Homelanders Series, Charlie is still on the run.  He is seeking for answers and help because he cannot remember the last year of his life.  He is desperate to escape the terrorist group, The Homelanders, and find the mysterious agent, Waterman, whose name he remembers being whispered into his ear.  It is a deadly game and Charlie isn’t sure who to trust and where to go.  There are so many secrets and so much he wishes he could remember.  Figuring it all out is hard but staying alive is even harder.

This book is action packed and fast moving.  There is never a dull moment.  I was grateful for the reminder of the people who put their lives on the line every day to defend our freedoms and protect our country.  I love our country and the freedoms we are blessed to have.  I enjoyed the wry humor that occasionally found its way into the book.  For instance, “My first instinct was to start pounding on the trunk lid, to start shouting, Help, Let me out! Which would’ve been pretty dumb, I know.  I mean, whoever put me in the trunk of a car probably hadn’t done it by accident.  They probably weren’t walking around thinking, Hey what happened to Charlie?  Gee, I hope we didn’t leave him in the trunk of the car!  Obviously, they’d dumped me in here on purpose, and so if I started shouting, help, help, let me out! they probably wouldn’t say, Oh, okay, sorry, we thought you liked it in there.”  This made me laugh.  Sometimes I would roll my eyes because seriously?  How much can one teenage guy actually handle?  Charlie is like a cat with 99 lives.  In the end, I would say that it was a decent read.  I appreciated that there was no profanity and swearing in it.  I would recommend 14 and up for the reading age level.   And I end with a quote that gave me a moment’s pause.  “It means that simple and simplistic aren’t the same thing.  Some things are true whether they’re simple or not.  Sometimes people just get complicated so they don’t have to stand up for what’s simple and true.  It’s easier.  It’s safer.  But that doesn’t make it right.”

Ratings Explanation

Language:  Exclamations of Deity are used along with Damnation.

Violence:  The Unconsecrated are humans who have turned into Zombie like creatures.  Their skin is ripped and gaping from wounds, fingers cracked and broken.  They try to kill other humans because live humans become food for the Unconsecrated.  Mary’s mother searches each day for her husband through the fence that separates the healthy people from the Unconsecrated.  She becomes infected by the Unconsecrated, her hands are bloody.  Mary must decide if she wants her mother to be killed or go to live with Unconsecrated.  Travis is injured and bloody.  The Unconsecrated attack the village.  People are in panic being chased and bitten.  There is blood.  “Fresh blood still stains their clothes, drips from their mouths.”  “Her mouth is hanging open and I can see the gaps from where she is missing teeth.  I hold up my hands to try to keep her away and she claws at me.  Her mouth is so close to my flesh that I can feel the stench of death seeping through me.  I kick at her, whip my arms at her, but to no avail.  I close my eyes and wait.”  The Sister’s at the Cathedral are attacked.  Jed’s wife is infected and he kills her by cutting off her head.  There is another attack and the Unconsecrated are trying to kill everyone.  Mary finds a baby in a house that has been infected and is Unconsecrated.  She throws it out the window.  The Unconsecrated attack and Mary uses an ax to sever heads from bodies.  “The ax lodges in the wall and I tug it free and swing again, blood slinging from the blade.  Again and again…”  Travis becomes infected and Mary decapitates him with a scythe.  “Flesh falls around me, the squelch of steel meeting putrefaction mixing with the sound of the rain beating the ground.”

Sexual Content:  Henry kisses Mary, trailing kisses down her neck.  Mary is in the bed with Travis.  They are very aware of each other.  They kiss.  “The feel of his lips pounds in my body, throbbing everywhere.”  Travis and Mary kiss several times.

Adult Themes:  Because of the hardships and bitter disappointments of life, Mary no longer believes in God.  Mary is bound to Henry to be married, but she loves Travis and wants to be with him.  She feels a sense of betrayal.  Mary’s brother blames her for their mother becoming an Unconsecrated.  He refuses to see her or speak with her.  Mary is sent to live at the Cathedral with the Sisters.  The Apocalypse is the catalyst for this book.

Synopsis

Mary lives in a world with two kinds of people; humans and the zombie creatures known as the Unconsecrated.  A fence separates them but the fear is always there.  The Sisters in the Cathedral keep the order and balance of the village.  After Mary’s mother becomes an Unconsecrated, she is sent to live with the Sisters and prepare for a marriage to Henry, her lifelong friend.  But Mary’s heart belongs to Travis, who is betrothed to another.   Everything changes when the Unconsecrated break through the fence and attack the village.  Mary and her friends escape to a pathway and have to fight to stay alive.

If you love a good horror movie, you will love this book.  It is full of the violence and gore that go along with zombies.  It’s not my favorite kind of book so I didn’t love this book, but I will say that it was free of the swearing that litters most books.  There were a lot of unanswered questions and I found that a bit frustrating because I like to know where characters and ideas are coming from. I like to know the reasons behind the events, feelings and actions.  I also love a good love story and this was not a good love story.  Everyone in love ends up killing the one they love because they are turning into Unconsecrated.  I didn’t love that.  Having said that, I think this book will certainly appeal to lots of people.  I would keep this in the high school age readers.

Ratings Explanation

Language:  A handful of common swear words.  Two uses of deity. Name calling.

Violence:  Poisoning with an opiate drug to induce unconsciousness and another case of poisoning to kill the royal family.  Kung Fu fighting as a method of defense.  A serious head wound from an explosion gone wrong.  Being chased by man-eating rats living underground.

Sexual Content:  Mention of boy friends.

Adult Themes: Deceiving adults in order to sneak out for spy missions.   Adults in this book are pretty clueless except for Kiki’s guardian.  Bubonic plague has killed several underground inhabitants.  Their skeletal remains are found locked in rooms.  Kiki’s family is poisoned by her mother’s sister who feels that the royal crown should be hers.  Kidnappings from the local girl’s school.  Stealing from lockers at the girl’s school and also from a city computer.  Gangs that make a living by smuggling people, drugs and fashion accessory knock-offs.

Synopsis

Twelve year old Ananka Fishbein has lived a rather dull existence until she observes a strange, small- framed girl climbing out of a newly formed sink hole near her family’s New York City apartment.  Curiosity calls and she discovers that the sink hole is actually an opening to a small underground room.  Using a rope that the strange girl left behind, Ananka makes her descent and begins to explore.  Little did she know that this would change her life.  The room is part of an underground network called Shadow City.  It was used decades before by criminals trying to escape the police.   The strange girl, Kiki Strike,  returns and befriends Ananka as well as four other oddly talented young girl scouts to help her explore and map the underground city.  The young group is excited for the opportunity of adventure and the chance to use their formerly unappreciated talents.  What they didn’t know was why Kiki was so interested in this city.  When one of them is seriously injured and Kiki disappears, the group decides they have been taken for a ride and promise to seek revenge upon their strange, former friend.  Two years later Kiki returns asking for the group’s help.  Reluctantly, they decide to join her.  This time the girls find that the game is more dangerous.  They must recover two kidnapped girls  and  pieces of a valuable New York City map.  As the group gets closer to solving the mystery, Kiki’s mysterious past catches up with her.  It is Kiki that the bad guys had wanted all along.  The girls gain renewed faith in their young leader and save New York City.

A great book for any adventurous young lady who likes a good mystery.   I  especially love the spy tips and techniques that Ananka gives at the end of each chapter.  You never know when one might need a good disguise, a quick get-away or some basic first-aid skills.