The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses by Ty Drago. © 2011 Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. ISBN 978-1402247859. Hardback. Horror / Young Adult. 480 pages. Source: ARC provided by the publishers.

Synopsis: Will Ritter is just an average twelve-year-old. He’s annoyed by his little sister and mom, though not very worried about his math test, since he actually studied. Then he walks outside and has to deal with his grumpy neighbor Old Man Pratt. Except Old Man Pratt is dead. Or looks dead anyway–he’s still walking and talking, just like a zombie. And things only get worse when Will finally gets to school–and the worse has nothing to do with the math test.

Review: I’ll say right now that I’m not a huge reader of YA books. Heck, I wasn’t even when I was one. Of course, that was pre-Goosebumps and basically all I had was Judy Blume and Nancy Drew. So I was kind of surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Sure, it’s a bunch of kids who have to stop the Corpses (not zombies–they’re not zombies, though they certainly look like them), but there’s a reason for that. And though Will falls into the “special preteen who must save things” role, he’s not annoying. He voices a lot of things that normal people would think, which basically boils down to “How are a bunch of kids going to fix this? We’re just kids!” It’s sly, the way Drago lets us know that even Will realizes how crazy the world has become.  Read more

Jennifer

Jennifer works as a production editor for a major publishing company in NYC but will not review any books put out by the company (under any imprint) on this site since that can be considered a conflict of interest. Areas of interest include Robin Hood, pirates, zombies (and horror in general), Beowulf (and other early English literature, though Beowulf has a soft spot in her heart), medieval history, Celtic history and literature, history of diseases, and some odd subjects like bog bodies. She lives in New Jersey with a husband and a cat. You can find her on LibraryThing, Twitter, and Goodreads.

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The Last Witch (Tales of Aradia, #1) by L.A. Jones. © 2010. ASIN B004GNFGLA. eBook. Young Adult / Fantasy. Source: review copy provided by the author.

Synopsis: Unknown to the humans who hung innocent people at the Salem Witch Trials real witches of the hidden race were killed for fear of exposure or at least that’s what all the vampires, werewolves, and other races thought.There was not one witch whom survived the genocide of the Salem Witch Trials. But one day a girl named Aradia moves to Salem, MA and all that changes.

Review: Giving this book a rating was very hard for me. The start of the story was very slow, and for a while (a long while) I debated whether to even finish it, but then I decided to stick with it and I’m kind of glad I did.

Let me say this up front, if you hate cliffhangers then buy this book with the next one in the series. Also, be prepared for a book that does a lot of telling in the beginning as opposed to actually showing. Once the book starts to pick up, though, you will be glad you stuck with it. The basic story is really good, and the characters are interesting–if underdeveloped a little–and they seemed more two dimensional than three. I’m assuming the author has done that because there is more to come. I really hope that the next one pick up with the action rather than with the telling because I would definitely read more from this author and this series. 3.75 out of 5.

Maya

Maya is a mechanical engineer and an avid reader with a love of history, mythology and culture. She is a typical Aquarian with a mean streak of reality but loves books of a paranormal and supernatural nature.

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See What I See by Gloria Whelan. © 2011 Harper Teen. ISBN 9780061255458. Trade Paperback. Contemporary YA. 208 pages. Source: ARC furnished by the publishers.

Synopsis: Kate Tapert sees the world around her in the paintings she adores. Yet one place she never sees her life in in the world of the famous and reclusive artist Dalton Quinn—her father, whom she hasn’t seen or heard from in ten years.

Kate’s own dreams of becoming an artist look like they’re on the verge of coming true when she’s offered a scholarship to art school in Detroit. Kate is ready to leave home and fully immerse herself in art—heaven!—and the only thing she needs is a place to stay. Her father’s house would be the perfect place, but when Kate shows up on his doorstep out of the blue, she has no idea what a life-altering decision that will turn out to be.

Review: I don’t read a great deal of contemporary YA since I’m more drawn to the fantastical side of literature but when I do venture to the realistic side of fiction, books like See What I See are great finds.

Our protagonist is Kate, an 18-yr old fresh from high school who has been granted a scholarship to one of the most prestigious art schools in the country. Problem is, neither she nor her mother have money for a dorm room. Kate’s father left them when she was only a toddler and has had nothing to do with either of them in years so Kate’s mum has had to support them both on a waitress’s paycheck.  Read more

Teresa

Teresa (nom de plume: Torrance Sené) is a self-proclaimed geek, a Janeite, a lover of werewolves and bad-ass angels, an aspiring novelist and an avid book reader who freelances as a web designer. You can follow her on Twitter at @eireannoir.

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Angelfire (Angelfire, #1) by Courtney Allison Moulton. © 2011 HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Books. ISBN 9780062002327. Hardcover. Young Adult/Paranormal. 464 pages. Source: arc furnished by Book It Forward ARC Tours.

Synopsis: When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers – monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell – she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie’s powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her – an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie’s soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian’s most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives – including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Review: Ellie has nightmares and on her 17th birthday … they become real when she finds the body of her economics teacher. Gruesome demonic creatures called reapers are coming for her. Some take the guise of animals and some can take the form of humans.

Enter Will, a stranger for whom Ellie feels an intense pull. It’s with Will that Ellie breaks down the walls in her mind and triggers her powers and ancient memories. And as her Guardian, Will helps Ellie destroy the reapers and come to terms with who she is. Ellie struggles with being torn between her destiny and love for Will, and her family. Things only get more complicated when an assassin, one who has tasted Ellie’s blood before and longs to kill her again, shows up. Can Ellie defeat him and stop the Apocalypse from beginning?

One word: amazing! Moulton’s mythology is brilliant even if some of the story devices used border a little on the cliché side (but as far as debut novels go … Moulton did a fantastic job!). I urge all lovers of badass angels, dynamic action and fear-provoking adversaries to please read this book. I cannot wait for book two! 4.5/5.

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Teresa

Teresa (nom de plume: Torrance Sené) is a self-proclaimed geek, a Janeite, a lover of werewolves and bad-ass angels, an aspiring novelist and an avid book reader who freelances as a web designer. You can follow her on Twitter at @eireannoir.

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