Review/ Minder by Kate Kaynak

Sixteen-year-old Maddie Dunn is special, but she needs to figure out how to use her new abilities before somebody else gets hurt. Ganzfield is a secret training facility full of people like her, but it's not exactly a nurturing place. Every social interaction carries the threat of mind-control. A stray thought can burn a building to the ground. And people's nightmares don't always stay in their own heads. But it's still better than New Jersey--especially once she meets the man of her dreams... (edited by author) (Publisher’s summary from Amazon)

I have always been fascinated by the powers of mind: telekinesis, mind reading, and just the mere fact that normal people, who see the same event perceive it differently. In Minder, Kate Kaynak  explores the mind’s ability and has created a very exciting story that highlights not only the use of these abilities for good but evil too.

Kaynak’s story immediately pulls you into Minder. Maddie is grabbed off the street by three boys whose purpose is quite clear. Scared and panicky, Maddie not only fights back, but somehow manages to kill all three of her attackers. As a loner, Maddie tells no on about her near rape not even her mother, but she is frightened by the knowledge that somehow she was responsible for their deaths.

Within twenty-four hours after Maddie’s attack she is introduced to the world of Ganzfield, a school filled with teens whose special abilities include telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and mind control.  Maddie learns that she is a minder, someone who can read thoughts of others and who has the ability to force her thoughts telepathically.  She also quickly learns that the “charms,” people who have to ability to bend others to their will telepathically, are feared mainly because they use their abilities for their own gains. A power struggle between Maddie and the charms begins immediately with Maddie coming out as top dog. Through this interaction with the charms Maddie became a character who I instantly admired. She owns up to her minder abilities, but understands that using it to manipulate others at their expense is wrong and begins to protect those who are being manipulated by the charms unethical use of their powers.

Kaynak’s descriptions of the various abilities were well done, and I found myself liking all of the characters except the charms. Some of my favorite scenes involved the kids with pyrokinesis playing a form of soccer with balls of fire. However, one problem I had with the story was the romance between Trevor and Maddie. I felt the intensity between them occurred too quickly, and although this did not spoil the rest of the story, it did make some of the interaction between them hard to accept. The ending is quite suspenseful, and between the conflicts and the characters, I found Minder to be a fast moving and compelling read.

If you like X-men, Fire Starter, and Carrie, then Minder is definitely a book that will appeal to you. This is the first book of several books in the Ganzfield series. Adversary, the second book is available now and Legacy, the third book will be release next summer. Kaynak has plans to write three more after Legacy. You can visit Kate on her blog and website. 

Source: Received copy for review from author

Review/ Virals by Kathy Reichs

Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.  As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their new found physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot--if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent. Fortunately, they are now more than friends--they're a pack. They are Virals. (Publisher's comments from Amazon)

 As a big fan of the TV series Bones, when I first read the summary for Virals I was pretty sure that I would like it. I was wrong...I loved it. Virals is a riveting adventure that pulled me in and had me reading all 446 pages in one sitting. I am hooked and I want more.

Tory narrates this fast paced story and is the leader of a group of three other boys all living on a South Carolina island owned by S.C. University. She is smart, confident, and filled with curiosity. Plus, she has a way of talking the guys into doing things they might not ordinarily do.When the four teens stumble across an old dog tag, an investigation into its owner changes their lives forever and nearly gets them killed.

Reich’s plot is multi-layered and the mystery of the disappearing girl is only one part of the complex plot that had me flying through Virals' pages. Tory was a terrific narrator, and Reich’s dialogue made not only Tory come alive for me but Ben, Shelton, and Hi too. All four of the characters are smart in varying ways, but not so geeky that they are over the top. As the mystery unfolds, the four also begin to realize that they each are developing unusual physical abilities turning their friendship into something more.

Virals is the first of what I hope will be a great new YA series, where each of the characters Reich has introduced are involved in solving more mysteries. This is definitely a book that I will be recommending not only to my students, but as an addition to next years book battle list. Virals is due for release  November 2, 2010.

Source: Received ARC copy from Traveling ARC Tours

About the Author:

Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead catapulted her to fame when it became a New York Times bestseller and won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Her other Temperance Brennan novels include Death du Jour, Deadly Décisions, Fatal Voyage, Grave Secrets, Bare Bones, Monday Mourning, Cross Bones, Break No Bones, Bones to Ashes, Devil Bones, and 206 Bones, Spider Bones (August, 2010). Dr. Reichs is a producer of the hit Fox TV series, Bones, which is based on her work and her novels. Virals is Reichs' first YA novel.

From teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains, to separating and identifying commingled body parts in her Montreal lab, as a forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs has brought her own dramatic work experience to her mesmerizing forensic thrillers. For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, and continues to do so for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec. Dr. Reichs has travelled to Rwanda to testify at the UN Tribunal on Genocide, and helped exhume a mass grave in Guatemala. As part of her work at JPAC (Formerly CILHI) she aided in the identification of war dead from World War II, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Dr. Reichs also assisted with identifying remains found at ground zero of the World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Dr. Reichs is one of only eighty-two forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. She served on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, and is currently a member of the National Police Services Advisory Council in Canada. She is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte, NC and Montreal, Québec. (From Kathy Reichs' website)

Show Me Five Review of Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Show Me Five is a weekly meme created by  That's a Novel Idea where  you  post the answers to five questions. The questions number indicates the number of answers you will provide. And I must add that I really enjoy posting a review using this format. Definitely helps offset the rut I sometimes feel I am in when I write a review.

1 Name the book: 


 Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel




2  Words that describe the book:

Original, unique 

3 Setting where it took place and/or characters:


One of the exceptional aspects of  Infinite Days is the setting, which changes as the Lenah narrates her present life with her past. 

In the present she is on going to boarding school called Wickham, which is located outside Lover's Bay, Massachusetts. One of the first descriptions of life at Wickham is going down to the beach to watch the Justin Enos and his brother race their boats, as many of the students watch, including Lenah. This is an important scene because she meets Tony, and see Justin for the first time.

The past settings in Infinite Days includes, various locations in England such as an apple orchard where Lenah first meets Rhodes who makes her a vampire,  Hathersage England where Lenah lived with her coven, and even a Paris opera house. Lenah's life has span several centuries and as she narrates she continually flashes back to various times giving the readers a better understanding of who she is.

My favorite character in the story besides Lenah was Tony. Lenah first meets Tony out on the beach shortly after she has become human. Tony is on scholoarship, an art student and described as a tall Asian. He has little use for the rich kids at Wickham, especially Justin and his brothers or the girls they hang out with. The reason I really like Tony is because he helps Lenah adjust to her new life as a human girl in the 21st Century, and he is also in love with her. He tries to protect her too. For me he was a much more dynamic character than Justin Enos who was the guy Lenah eventually falls in love with.

The other character I was drawn to in Infinite Days was Vicken. Of all the men in Lenah's coven, Vicken was the strongest and the one most in love with her. When Lenah first met him he was a Scottish map maker for the British Army during the middle 1800's. It is Vicken who Lenah fears once she has become a human, and it is he who searches for her to bring her back to the coven. Maizel describes him as an 18-19 year-old,  with wrinkles on the side of his eyes when he smiled.


4 likes and/or dislikes:

I really like how Lenah's story jumps back an forth from her present situation to her past. Her history as a cruel vampire was amazing and Maizel did a terrific job with descriptions of the variety of settings and Lenah's feelings.

I disliked the fact that Justin was Lenah's choice as her present day love interest. I felt Justin's character was too much like every other hot, rich guy that so many of the female YA protagonists fall for. After meeting Rhodes, who was willing to sacrifice his life to make Lenah human, and Vicken who could not let her go, Justin was just too boring and stereotypical a character for this century old girl to latch onto.

I definitely like how original and unique the plot of this vampire story was. While I may not have read a lot of the vampire books currently published, I do not know of any story where a vampire becomes human. Maizel does a fantastic job at showing Lenah's adjustment not only to life as a human, but life in the 21st Century.

I disliked one part of the ending, but if I tell you which part it will spoil it for anyone who has yet to read this book. I am happy to see that there is a sequel to Lenah's story.


5 stars or less:

I really want to give this book five stars, but because of my dislike of Justin's character I am only giving it 4.5. I know this is really a personal thing, and I highly recommend Infinite Days, I just wish Lenah had chosen someone different to fall in love with, like Tony!

Review/ the Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green

When Erin Channing's favorite aunt dies, Erin is bequeathed a pink crystal ball and a set of weird instructions. Granted, Aunt Kiki (aka Aunt Kooky) always lived outside the box. But now Erin and her two best friends are convinced that the pink crystal ball holds the key to their future-or at least the key to getting dates...(Publisher's comments from Powell's Books)

The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green is a cute story with terrific characters and a fun plot.  The story revolves around Erin and her two best friends and one pink crystal ball bequeathed to Erin by her Aunt Kiki who dies after being struck by lightening.  Erin is a great students, and views the world from a logical and rational point of view and whose life is all about making the grades boring. When she hears that her AP Art History class will be choosing five students to go to Italy, she just has to be one of the students chosen. The trouble is she can’t think of anything to say in the essay she has to write, and she has to get at least an A- on her art project. So when she is paired up with Jesse, who thinks she might be incapable of thinking outside the box, and who she once kissed during an eighth grade party and still thinks about that kiss two years later, and who also wants to go to Italy, she wonders if she has a chance.

I really liked how Green interweaves Erin’s boring life, with her desire to go to Italy and her preoccupation over figuring out if the crystal ball really is magical especially after a few questions she asks come true. While her friends are convinced that the crystal ball is the real deal, Erin’s rational mind is not convinced and she spends a lot of time going over the instructions: Consider Your Fate to Be Sealed . . . Absolute knowledge is not unlimited; let the planets be your guide to the number. There are sixteen ways to die, but four of them you will never see. The future belongs to you alone. Other voices will be disappointed. One rotation is as far as you can see. Only uncertainty lies beyond. Things get dicey when both her friends insist that Erin use the crystal ball to fix their problems.

Green’s characterization was one of my favorite aspects of the book because even the secondary characters were dynamic in their own right. I especially loved the interaction between Erin and Jesse. Jesse challenges Erin to step outside of herself, which was fun to see at times. In fact one of my favorite scenes involves Erin and a mosh pit. There is just the right mix of humor and drama in Erin’s need to figure out why her Aunt Kiki left her the pink crystal ball and Erin and her friends’ lives to make this a fun read.

Green brings the story full circle, which I found quite satisfying, and Erin’s essay reflects the lessons she learns and the growth that occurs through her interactions with Jesse, her friends and the crystal ball. The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball has just the right combination of romance, humor, magic, and truly relatable characters to make this a very cool read. 

This book is due for release in September.

Source: ARC copy from Sourcebooks