Life Eternal - Yvonne Woon A Dead Beautiful novel - Book 2 February, 2012 - Hyperion Young Adult / Paranormal 3.5 Hoots Renée Winters has changed. When she looks in the mirror, a beautiful girl with an older, sadder face stares back. Her condition has doctors mystified, but Renée can never reveal the truth: she died last May, and was brought back to life by the kiss of her Undead soul mate, Dante Berlin. Now, her separation from Dante becomes almost unbearable. His second life is close to an end, and each passing day means one less that she will spend with the boy who shares her soul. Just when Renée has almost given up hope, she learns of the Nine Sisters—brilliant scholars who, according to legend, found a way to cheat death. She can’t shake the feeling that they are somehow connected to her dreams, strange visions that hint at a discovery so powerful, and so dangerous, that some will stop at nothing to protect it. Renée thought she knew the truth about life and death. But there is a secret woven through history that holds the only hope for Dante and Renée. Unless they find answers soon, their time together is doomed to be cut short. (Goodreads) Review: In the first of this series, Renée Winters is just a normal sixteen year old girl, until the death of her parents permanently changes her life. Her grandfather sends her to Gottfried Academy, where all things are not as they seem, and Dante Berlin captures her love. In this second book in the series, Woon’s continues to weave strong themes within the creation of a different world: the obstacles to true love; whether some people have the right to judge others because they are different; and, how children handle loss of family. Renée is confused about where her loyalties truly lie. She calls into question the roles her family, school, and friends seem to accept at face value. The mystery of the Nine Sisters creates suspense and anticipation. The descriptions in this novel are rich, providing intricate details of the various settings. While such descriptions help the reader to visualize this different world, there are some long passages that interrupt the pacing of the book. Numerous characters, who are not essential to plot or story development, force the reader to backtrack for who they are. Perhaps the greatest hindrance to full enjoyment of this novel involves the main character. Renée’s actions seem to fluctuate. One of the greatest inconsistencies involve to whom she decides to explain her plight. Sometimes the rationale for her actions is not clear, seemingly working against her best interests. Furthermore, although Renée is supposed to be limited in her ability to use her senses, there are instances where she seems to have full use of her faculties. For instance, her friendship with one of her male classmates causes her to feel warm when she blushes or he touches her hand. The subject of Woon’s book is engaging and interesting. Unfortunately, the problems of pacing, too many characters, inconsistencies in actions, and behavior detract from the wonderful story.                                                                                                                                                                               Reviewed by Lydia

Tempest - Julie Cross Temptest - Book 1 January, 2012 - St Martin’s Griffin Young Adult / Sci Fi 4.5 Hoots The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun. That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities. But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him. Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.  (Goodreads) Review: This fantastical novel of teen-age time travel is a fun, well-paced and well written story.  From the beginning the reader is immersed into the problems of Jackson Meyer’s time travel issues. Here is a teenage boy who does not know how to control his ability to time travel, furthermore only thought his ability to time travel was limited, only to find he can go further into the past than he ever contemplated. Cross has given him a concrete goal: to get back to save his girlfriend who was shot by undercover agents when he “jumped” from 2009 to 2007. She presents a particularly conflicting subplot as he wonders about this “freakish” ability. Cross is an excellent writer. The book is paced to entice the reader to keep reading on and on. What is going to happen next? Every reader will want to know the answer to that question. Cross expertly integrates those small essential elements of what would happen with a time traveler. What about the waitress you used to know? Is this the same coffee shop with the same employees? And how could your sister whom you see in a past setting possibly understand she is looking at an older brother? Perhaps the most effective elements Cross uses is the journal which Jackson keeps, even as he travels through time. This particular prop allows Cross to insert important information yet stay within the voice of the protagonist. Jackson’s varying images of people through time lend a realistic feel to a contemporary novel with a fantastical feel. She establishes some basic propositions for the protagonist to follow and maintains them throughout the novel, such as the concept of how Jackson can time travel and how persons will react to him in different time periods. She portrays Jackson as an innovative, thinking and creative person, concerned about the people who matter to him. The novel is an interesting and fun novel for those interested in contemporary fantasy. There are strong characters, solid plot and appropriate subplots, a solid novel framework, excellent pacing, and interesting writing.  Readers of this genre should have a good time.                                                                                                                                                                               Reviewed by Lydia