Silent Echoes by Carla Jablonski Review

TITLE: Silent Echoes

AUTHOR: Carla Jablonski

PUBLISHER: Razorbill

PAGES: 344

MY RATING: 4/5

INSIDE COVER BLURB: Sixteen-year-old Lucy Phillips lives with her father in nineteenth-century Manhattan where together they concoct schemes and cons to make a living. Then Lucy hears a real "spirit" speak to her at a seance packed with wealthy socialites, and she quickly gains fame and fortune as a talented medium who can share valuable knowledge about the future.

In modern-day New York City, Lindsay Miller is terrified by the girl's voice she's started hearing in her head. Worried she's losing her mind, Lindsay finally admits what's happening, and she's hospitalized for schizophrenia.

But when the two girls realize they are hearing each other's voices across time, they begin to see possibilities that will change both of their lives forever....

Author Carla Jablonski weaves together the riveting stories of two girls who live centuries apart into one unforgettable novel.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I loved this book. It was so much fun to read. I loved the way the author wove the two stories together and that we got to see the story from two different sides. It was really interesting to be able to compare the life that I am more familiar with to the life from back in the nineteenth century. The ending of the book made me really happy too. I don't want to give anything away, but I'm glad it ended the way it did.

COVER: I'd give the cover a 3/5. I'm not sure who the girl on the cover is supposed to be, but I like to think it's a combination of the two girls, which I think is a great idea if that is the case.

CHARACTERS: I loved both the characters of Lucy and Lindsay. They had a lot in common both being teenage girls, but they were also so different because of the things they've grown up around.

Nothing But The Truth by Avi Review

TITLE: Nothing But The Truth

AUTHOR: AVI

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Inc.

PAGES: 177

MY RATING: 1.5/5

BACK COVER BLURB: Ninth grader Philip Malloy has one thing on his mind: running. When a failing English grade keeps him from joining the track team, he believes his teacher, Miss Narwin, has it in for him. One morning during announcements, he disregards the school's policy of observing "The Star-Spangled Banner: in respectful silence and hums along, hooping to get transferred out of her class. Little does he know that his minor infraction will make him the subject of national media attention. What truly happened that morning in Miss Narwin's class? Examine the events and reach your own conclusion. But--can you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I did not enjoy this book at all. The only reason I finished it was because it was short and a very quick read. The plot angered me and the story never really went anywhere. I just feel like more could have been done with the storyline. It was boring and nothing got accomplished.

COVER: I do like the cover of the book. I love that it's simple and that they used the word to The Star Spangled Banner in the form of a flag; I think that's pretty clever.

CHARACTERS: Philip was an okay character. I understand that he is young and doesn't fully grasp the severity of the situation, but I feel like he could have spoke up at the end of the story. I did not like Philip's dad. It seems like this whole situation could have been avoided if Philip's dad did not push him so hard to talk to their neighbor when obviously Philip was reluctant to do so. I also did not really enjoy the character of Miss Narwin. I feel like she should have tried a little harder to stand up for herself instead of just rolling over and taking it.

*I won this book in a contest at www.teenreads.com

Dakota Child by Linda Ford Review

TITLE: Dakota Child

AUTHOR: Linda Ford

PUBLISHER: Steeple Hill

PAGES: 270

MY RATING: 3/5


*I received this book from Tellharlequin.

BACK COVER BLURB: Trapped in a North Dakota blizzard, single mother Vivian Halliday's prayer for herself and her child is answered. Rescue comes in the seemingly terrifying form of Billy Black, the hulk of a man feared by all the townsfolk. Yet in the home he shares with his ailing mother, the handsome, gentle giant warms her baby's bottles and sings sweet lullabies that lull even Vivian to peaceful sleep.

When the storm abates and it is safe to leave, will she seek the life that led her back to the village or stay where she's found an unexpected family for herself and her Dakota child?

Overall Impression: This was a pretty good read. I found myself cheering for the two main characters throughout the book hoping that they would be able to figure everything out.

Cover: I loved this cover compared to most other romance novel covers. The cover was very sweet and made me feel warm and cozy.

Characters: I really like the character of Billy. I love his protectiveness of his mother and how he was determined to be nice to everyone and always do the right thing. I was also very intrigued by the character of Billy's mom. Her story really interested me and if I could have it my way another book would be written about what happened to her when she was captured and how she handled living through everything.

2011 Debut Author Challenge!

Hey guys. I've pretty much stopped blogging all together. I just don't have the time to do it any more. That being said, I would love to be able to participate in the 2011 debut author challenge hosted by the Story Siren. So what I'm going to do is participate in the challenge, but also post my reviews on Goodreads and Amazon that way people will actually get to read them as I know I don't have a lot of traffic to my blog.

As for the list of books I'm hoping to read, I have no idea what I'm going to read, there's so many that look so great. I'm just going to be adding books as I pick them up to read them.

So, if you want to participate too head over to The Story Siren.


1. This Girl is Different by JJ Johnson (Blog) (Goodreads) (Amazon)

Awesome Contest!

Leilani from Leilani Loves Books is having a 100 Follower and Birthday Bash!! Lots of contests and prizes. Info taken straight from her blog:

Hey Guys!!
Yes! I am super close too 100 followers and my birthday is coming up!
So, in honor to this I am having a 100 follower Birthday Bash!
Here's how it works:
Starting June 11th to August 13th (my birthday) I am going to have a list of contests. On August 13th I will have the names of all of the winners.
I will have separate posts for each contest and their will be rules there.

So Click the Button below to join in the fun.