Still Photo by Kim Harnes

May 13, 2014 By Leave a Comment

PHOTO
Still Photo by Kim Harnes
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (188 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Jess Waterford’s mother is evil. Since she took off seven years ago—just days after Jess’s ninth birthday—without so much as a wave goodbye, Jess has always wondered what happened to her. And despite the end of her mother’s mental and physical abuse, the memories and the scars still remain. Jess conceals the hurt within by practicing her photography, and by spending as much time as her dad will allow with her baseball star boyfriend, Brody Campbell.

Determined to make use of her new camera, Jess dives into photographing everything in sight. But periodically the resulting prints are flawed, ever so slightly: a smudge on a tree trunk; a blemish in the bus window. These imperfections are not as random as they may seem, however, and Brody and Jess soon discover together that each of these pictures combine to form another image—the grisly image of a murder scene, with Jess’s mother as the victim.
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As the new photograph takes shape, Jess’s desire to complete it consumes her, and Brody’s health begins to deteriorate. Torn between her quest to reveal her mother’s killer and her continued worry over Brody’s failing health, Jess finally finds the last piece to the puzzle, and the answer sends her world spiraling into depths from which she may never recover.

Some people walk around with a word on the tip of their tongue. Jess is plagued by a photograph of a murder. Worse yet, she doesn’t have enough information to figure out what happened and has no idea where to find the rest of pieces to the puzzle.

The character development in this book is quite interesting. My first impression of Jess was that her life was almost too perfect. While her childhood was difficult to say the least, she’s sailed into her high school years with a loving boyfriend and a part-time job that also happens to be her passion in life. I had similar thoughts about her boyfriend and father, but what surprised me the most about all three characters was how Ms. Harnes gradually reveals more about their personalities without ever making this reader feel like she’d been holding something back from me.

There were several clues that never quite made sense to me. Some of them felt a little out of place due to certain cultural shifts that have taken place in the last generation or so. It’s difficult to discuss the specific phenomenon that I found confusing without giving away spoilers, but certain attitudes and societal mores were odd. The pacing in this book was so strong that a little time could have been spared to explain why the expectations of these characters are out of sync with what I’d generally expect from individuals living in a contemporary setting.

With that being said, figuring out what was going on with the smudged photographs was a thrill. The mystery elements of this tale are exceptionally strong. The number of hints were appropriate for a novel of this length. While I would have preferred to see the biggest ones appear a little more quickly, I was impressed by how many plot twists I never saw coming. This was my first introduction to Ms. Harnes work, and I’m looking forward to seeing if I can figure out her next mystery a bit faster.

Still Photo blends the young adult and mystery genres together seamlessly. This is a good choice for anyone who enjoys dipping their toes into more than one category of story when they read.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Snip, Snip Revenge by Medeia Sharif

May 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment

SNIP
Snip, Snip Revenge by Medeia Sharif
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (170 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Beautiful, confident Tabby Karim has plans for the winter: nab a role in her school’s dramatic production, make the new boy Michael hers, and keep bigoted Heather—with her relentless Ay-rab comments—at bay. When a teacher’s lie and her father’s hastiness rob her of her beautiful hair, her dreams are dashed. The fastest barber in Miami Beach has made her look practically bald.

With all her pretty hair gone, Tabby doesn’t believe she fits the feminine role she’s auditioning for. Michael is still interested in her, but he’s playing it cool. Heather has taken to bullying her online, which is easier to do with Tabby’s ugly haircut. Tabby spearheads Operation Revenge, which proves satisfying until all of her problems deepen. After messing up, she sets to make things right.

Tabby has always been proud of her long, gorgeous, curly hair, but looks aren’t everything, right?
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Experiencing growing pains is difficult enough in a warm, nurturing home, but not everyone is lucky enough to be raised in that kind of setting. Dysfunction plagues Tabby’s family, and the results of living in such an unpredictable environment are written with unflinching accuracy. I especially liked seeing how Tabby reacts to memories of things her parents did years ago.

It would have been helpful if more time was spent describing Tabby’s strengths. She has quite a few flaws that are realistically developed, but it took me much longer to discover exactly who is hiding behind her sharp edges. The scenes involving her relationship with her half sister were touching and could have easily been expanded to show off more of Tabby’s positive traits.

The Miami Beach Magnet School of the Arts sounds like an amazing place to learn. Some of my favorite scenes took place there due to how much effort was put into exploring what the various cliques think of one another. The tensions between various groups felt genuine, especially given how quickly everything changes from one day to the next.

I enjoyed watching the tension steadily build in each subplot, but some of their solutions never quite made sense to me. So many chapters was spent building up the importance of each conflict that I expected their resolutions to require a little more time to come together. The pacing was otherwise exactly what I would have expected from a novel of this length. Only the conclusions felt slightly rushed.

The age recommendation for this book should be taken seriously. While they were handled quite well, some subplots discuss incredibly sensitive topics in great detail. I can’t say what they are without giving away spoilers, but how they are introduced to the plot may be upsetting for younger readers. They are good conversation starters for high schoolers though.

Snip, Snip Revenge is a solid tale that I’d recommend to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider. It’s easy to assume that everyone else’s life is easier than your own, but the image people project isn’t necessarily how they actually feel about themselves.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Horse of Wind and Shadows by L.B. Shire

April 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment

HORSE
Horse of Wind and Shadows by L.B. Shire
Publisher: Lycaon Press
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Contemporary, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (154 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Evil lurks in the waters off the Oregon coast. A lone girl, a magnificent horse, zombies… Can hope prevail with each hoof beat in the sand?

All Taryn wanted was to have a horse again.

When she spotted the black steed running through the ocean waves, she knew there must be a way to capture the feral horse. Her best friend, Flyn, said it wasn’t possible. Not one to turn away from a challenge, will she risk friendships and love to make her dream come true?
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Flyn has been Taryn’s self-proclaimed protector since they were kids. Thrust into a world of unpredictability, he tries his best to keep the strong-willed girl out of trouble. Taryn stumbles upon a horse and decides she wants to make it her own against his growing concerns. Will he be able to keep Taryn safe, or will she be lost to him forever?

Is there any point in wishing for impractical things when there’s no guarantee you’ll live to see tomorrow? Of course Taryn knows how dangerous it is to grow up in a world full of zombies, but she can’t help but to dream of what it would feel like to ride a horse again.

Taryn is one of the most interesting protagonists I’ve met so far this year. Her strengths and flaws reveal themselves early on in her adventures, and she definitely possesses quite a few of each. Sometimes her unrelenting stubbornness made me wish I could climb into the scene and persuade her to listen to other points of view, but her empathy and curiosity kept me rooting for her until the conclusion.

I did notice some grammatical errors in the text as I was reading. There were also a few instances in which the characters’ syntax was unusual. It was never quite clear to me if the author was writing a new type of dialect that was created by the large number of orphans in the plot whose education has been sparse to non-existent or if these oddly written sentences would have disappeared with another round of editing.

Strong, even pacing drew me back into the story. There is little room for sentimentality or nostalgia in this world because the characters are forced to spend so much of their time gathering supplies and outrunning the dead. This realistic look at what it would take to keep a small community functioning under such dangerous conditions when a large percentage of their members are young children and teenagers piqued my interest almost as much as the dilemmas Taryn and her makeshift family face.

The paranormal elements of this tale captured my attention immediately. It’s fairly rare for a zombie novel to include the types of phenomenon that the author inserts into the text, so I was curious to see how everything would tie together. I would have liked to see more time spent developing this subplot. It’s a unique twist, yet the amount of space it was given wasn’t quite enough to explain all of the questions I had in the beginning.

It took me a while to determine the most appropriate age recommendation. Taryn is a few months shy of 16 when the story begins, but her emotional response to her circumstances and her obsession with the horse make her come across as someone who is a few years younger than her chronological age. There is a genuinely innocent and naive side to this character that is often at odds with her surroundings, and it is because of these traits that this story is suitable for high school students of any age.

I’d recommend Horse of Wind and Shadows to anyone who would like to shift effortlessly between genres. This novel is equal parts young adult and science fiction with just enough horror thrown in to remind the reader that there are always zombies lurking beyond the perimeter.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Taste of Gold by Deryn Pittar

April 10, 2014 By Leave a Comment

GOLD
A Taste of Gold by Deryn Pittar
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Suspense/Mystery, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary, Action/Adventure
Length: Short Story (95 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Psychic twins with special talents meet two thieves, two Taniwha, and one pretty reporter as they experience the adventure of a lifetime…

On a prospecting holiday, brothers Jason and Levi discover an ancient supernatural creature, a Taniwha named Otanewainuku, who gives them ‘humming stones’ in exchange for their silence about its treasure. They also cross paths with two thieves. Their supernatural abilities to find hidden gems and precious metals help them find the stolen goods and turn them in to the police—twice. But when they meet reporter Abby Hennessy, her story on their good deed attracts the wrong kind of attention.
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When the thieves capture Jason to use his talents, Levi has to rely on their psychic link to guide the police while not revealing their powers. Abby wants to help, and she and Levi search for the thieves, not knowing that Jason is going to use the ‘humming stones’ to call on another Taniwha for help…

Road trips are supposed to provide a sense of adventure without actually exposing the people on them to any real harm. Unfortunately Jason and Levi’s trip isn’t exactly following that rule.

As interesting as all of the human characters are, by far my favourite character was Otanewainuku. I’d never heard any legends about the Taniwha before, and it was fascinating to imagine what it would be to meet one of them in person. They are a unique species that fit in well with the rest of the science fiction and paranormal elements of this book.

While Jason and Levi’s paranormal abilities are clearly described early on in their adventures, I would have liked to learn more about the origins of them. The handful of hints about where these powers might have come from are intriguing, but the story would have flowed more smoothly had the author taken the time to explain such an important part of their identities.

The well-paced, exciting plot made it hard for me to put this novella down. It has the kind of worldbuilding I’d expect from a full-length novel, but each chapter was so engrossing that I finished it within a few days. The plot-based narrative introduces background information as needed, and while there were times when I wished certain details were revealed a little sooner I soon learned to appreciate how the author brings up the most important facts in such a fast-paced story.

A Taste of Gold is rollicking adventure that is begging for a sequel. While I don’t know if the author is planning to revisit these characters, I highly recommend getting to know them in the meantime. This is a fun, short tale that this reader had a great time zipping through.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Unseen Terrorist by Oche Otorkpa

April 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment

UNSEEN
The Unseen Terrorist by Oche Otorkpa
Publisher: Author House
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (128 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

This book a collection of stories on the lives of HIV carriers was inspired by a taxi driver who once told the author that if he knew one percent of what people infected with HIV go through, he would have done all within his power to avoid being infected

Sometimes fear is worse than the disease itself.
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The Unseen Terrorist is divided into over twenty short essays about what it’s like to live with HIV or AIDS. The personal stories are by far my favourite part of this collection because they are culled from such a diverse group of people. After Emeka found out he was infected, for example, his family arranged a marriage between him and a woman who had no idea he was sick. The repercussions of that decision affect two families forever, and I couldn’t stop reading until I knew what happened to him and his new bride.

There are numerous grammar and punctuation errors in the text. Certain words are also capitalized in the middle of sentences for reasons I was never able to figure out. At first I wondered if they were translations of slang terms from the author’s culture that carry completely different connotations in English, but my theory was never confirmed or denied.

This book also includes quite a few charts, graphs, photographs, cartoons, and other illustrations. While the vast majority of them were easy to read, I was never able to figure out the words on the flowcharts that appear to be explaining how quickly HIV spreads from one person to the next. The titles of these charts are clear, but the rest of the writing is blurry due to the quality of the snapshots and how small these pictures are. The ones I was able to read were fascinating because they reveal so much about the cultures of the people who created them. The natural course of AIDS for patients who are not on any medication for it is the same everywhere, but the society they live in has a huge effect on whether they have access to those drugs, who they do or don’t tell about their diagnosis, where they live and work, and a long list of other factors that affect quality of life. I wish I would have been able to puzzle out all of the charts so I could learn more about this aspect of living with HIV because it was such an interesting approach to the disease.

It took me a while to determine if I should recommend this to the 14+ or 16+ age groups. I ultimately decided on the younger age group because so many of the case studies involve people who who had barely reached their teens when they contracted HIV. The inclusion of so many children and young teenagers living with this disease make the lists of statistics come alive. It’s much more difficult to ignore a true story than it is a list of numbers or percentages.

The Unseen Terrorist is a sober look at a disease that affects people from every country in the world. This is something that I’d recommend to adult and teen readers alike.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Fool’s Gold by Lynn Lovegreen

April 2, 2014 By Leave a Comment

GOLD
Fool’s Gold by Lynn Lovegreen
Publisher: Prism Book Group
Genre: Historical, YA
Length: Full Length (198 pgs)
Age recommendation: 14+
Rated: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

Alaska’s gold rush is no place for a lady, but that doesn’t scare Ellie Webster. Ellie travels with her younger brother to the wilds of the Klondike gold rush to save the family farm. She’s prepared for hardship on the trail, but not for the sparkling blue eyes of Duke Masterson, a charming saloon keeper. And Duke is surprised to find that Ellie and her apple pies are more valuable to him than all the gold nuggets in Skagway, Alaska. Now if he could only overcome Ellie’s fear of losing her newly-found independence and win her heart. Together they must defeat the conman corrupting the town and make their fortunes before the last steamship of the season heads south.

Fool’s Gold is a sweet adventure and romance, set in the late nineteenth century Alaska.

Although not set on adventure, Ellie Webster and her brother are forced by circumstances to join the great Yukon gold rush.
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Ellie hardly seems the type for such an adventure. She longs to be elegant, to be with the right people, even as she acknowledges she’s heading for a ‘rough place, full of rough characters.’ Duke Masterson is, right off, not the sort of person she plans to associate with – yet she hardly seems to grasp that where she is going is not full of ‘elegant people.’ Whether or not Duke has the best of intentions doesn’t even enter her head. She knows he’s handsome but she has her own goals.

Duke recognizes Ellie’s strength of character…but he knows the challenges they will all face on the trails north.

Their adventures start almost the minute they set off, and their relationship remains a bit rocky. Other characters pose somewhat unpredictable challenges and events change Ellie’s goals and outlook.

Although this starts off a touch slowly, reader’s interest in the characters steadily builds and you will read with greater and greater interest. The setting itself is enthralling, from the seas, wildlife, to Skagway and the very accurate description of The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad.

Teens and young readers interested in the time period will enjoy Fool’s Gold.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Incarnation by Susan Nolan

April 1, 2014 By Leave a Comment

TEEN
Incarnation by Susan Nolan
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, YA
Length: Short Story (128 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

Katherine Blair has no idea she possesses supernatural abilities. Not until Richard St. James, an intriguing and mysterious classmate with powerful skills of his own, initiates her into his world. Wanting to explore her newfound shape-shifting powers, she spends time getting to know Richard, only to find herself increasingly drawn to him as time goes by.

Haunted by dreams of ancient times, she is caught in a desperate struggle against past injustice. The link to this unknown past experience sends her own life plummeting into the dark realms of revenge and murder, as she attempts to reconcile her feelings for the young man she’s come to rely on to protect her and keep their shared secret.

Will Katherine and Richard be able to break the spell that has held her captive through the years, before it consumes her? Can their budding young love survive tragedy, or will they be torn apart?

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Katherine handles her introduction into the supernatural world fairly well considering how much she learns in a short period of time. When she’s having a hard time coping with the news that she is a shape shifter, she does what any good bookworm would do. She goes to the library. I like that she wasn’t content with the information Richard provided and took the initiative to find out more on her own. At first Katherine is fascinated by her abilities as well as Richard’s, but it isn’t long before she learns just how dangerous the supernatural world can be.

I had a very hard time figuring out how to define Katherine and Richard’s relationship. At first they both seem mildly irritated by each other. However, once they start spending more time together, they became fast friends, and I got the feeling that romance might be in the air. It is clear that Katherine has feelings for Richard, but I’m having a much harder time figuring out where Richard stands, especially given how he behaves around Meredith, a girl in his class. When Katherine questions him about his romantic past and what his relationship with Meredith is, he is unwilling to talk about it. I found this odd because Richard professes to care about Katherine, yet he continues to associate with Meredith even though she is openly hostile to Katherine.

I also have the feeling that Richard is hiding things from Katherine. I don’t think he has lied to her, but he is very selective about the information he shares with her. I can’t decide if he is doing this because he is trying to protect her, or because he is trying to keep her dependent on him because she has so much potential. I do think Richard cares for Katherine, but I can’t shake the feeling that he has ulterior motives.

Katherine’s connection to the past is still very murky by the end of the story as is the link between Katherine and Richard’s families. The book felt a bit choppy at times, and I was left wanting more detail. Again, I think this is due to the fact that Richard is hiding something. The conclusion is very open ended and left me with even more questions. I can only hope that Ms. Nolan has plans to continue Katherine’s story in a sequel.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Incarnation. It is a fun, fast paced book for anyone looking for a quick paranormal read to spend an afternoon with.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

First Love by James Patterson and Emily Raymond

February 13, 2014 By Leave a Comment

LOVE2
First Love by James Patterson and Emily Raymond
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, YA
Length: Full Length (340 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

An extraordinary portrait of true love that will move anyone who has a first love story of their own. Axi Moore is a “good girl”: She studies hard, stays out of the spotlight, and doesn’t tell anyone how all she really wants is to run away from it all. The only person she can tell is her best friend, Robinson–who she also happens to be madly in love with.

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A remarkably moving tale very personal to James Patterson’s own past, FIRST LOVE is testament to the power of first love–and how it can change the rest of your life.

Good girl Axi Moore is about to shock the world – and herself – by doing the unthinkable. Abandoning her father, her perfect grades, and everything else she’s ever held dear, she’s about to propose an adventure to her best friend – and one true love – Robinson. What starts out as a fun getaway from life and obligations soon turns to something much darker. Will love be enough to see Axi through?

Axi Moore and I are an awful lot alike. Good students, good kids, and living life on the straight and narrow. What Axi possesses that I’ve always lacked was an adventurous streak. I found it curious that such a self-proclaimed good girl would drop everything, risking her father’s displeasure as well as her GPA, just to take a spontaneous trip across the country. Love or not, it seemed odd to me. However, as the story unravels, you begin to understand more and more of Axi’s motivation behind what she’s doing. It becomes less of a shock and more of a last-ditch effort to prove herself to Robinson. Axi is one heck of a woman for a teenager.

Robinson is every teenager’s dream as well as every father’s nightmare. High school dropout and car thief supreme, Robinson is charming, witty, and unequivocally devoted to Axi Moore. The story of how two very different kids became such good friends nearly broke my heart. However, it gives you hope when you realize that after all they’ve been through, they are still completely devoted to one another, their friendship, and possibly more. By the end of the novel, Robinson has moved from simply a juvenile delinquent to a very passionate, surprising young man.

Knowing that First Love has root in James Patterson’s own past only makes the story more gripping, more poignant in the end. First Love will run you through all the emotions you own – I found myself laughing one minute, worrying for Axi and Robinson the next, and crying more often than I want to admit to. In spite of all the tears I shed, I found myself uplifted and thankful for having read this novel. One of the best things I’ve read in a long time without a doubt.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Endure by Laura Diamond

December 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

ENDURE
Endure by Laura Diamond
Publisher: Etopia Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA
Length: Full Length (319 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Hollyhock

Seventeen-year-old Justin’s anemic blood is a blessing. Or a curse. It all depends on who you ask.

To most of the immortal Vie, his blood is a scourge: untouchable and useless. To some Vie, his blood is a drug. To Justin, it’s something that gets him in a lot of trouble. Being poisoned by a Vie is just one example. His sister getting kidnapped is another. Whether it’s being coerced by a deluded cult leader, or negotiating with Alex—an Vie scientist addicted to Anemie blood—Justin struggles to keep every mutated drop of blood he’s got.

His fight for survival gets more complicated when he meets Alex’s slave, Cara. Despite coming from different worlds, they’re both prisoners, at risk of being drained by a hungry Vie any moment. When she risks her own neck to help Justin find his sister, he’s left with a terrifying choice.
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Saving what’s left of humanity.
Saving his sister. Saving the girl he loves.
Or sticking a stake in Alex’s chest.
Justin can’t decide which option will get him killed first.

When your mortal enemy swears to protect you, should you trust him? Or run for your life?

Endure is a dystopian adventure that tells the story of Justin, an Anemie trying to survive in a world where he faces both extinction and exploitation. When Justin and his little sister encounter Alex, a Vie ordered to kill them, their world turns upside down. Justin must figure out whether Alex is really trying to help them, as he says, or whether he’s just another immortal Vie bent on exterminating Anemies.

With so much YA aimed at female audiences, it’s refreshing to read a story told from a male protagonist’s point of view. Justin is a likable character, and the reader has no difficulty understanding his struggles to keep his sister and himself safe in a world gone horribly wrong. It’s easy to sympathize with his fear and agony as he tries to decide who is trustworthy, who is an enemy masquerading as a friend, and what course of action will involve hurting the fewest people close to him. I also like that the author brought an element of romance to the story as Justin befriends Cara, a human girl who is a slave to the Vie.

Although I enjoyed the story, I think I would have liked it more if the author had provided enough world building for me to fully understand what is at stake. I struggled to grasp not only the dynamic between the Vie and the Anemies, but who or what they are. Or why, since their blood is a drug to them, the Vie are trying to exterminate the Anemies. Part of the problem might be that the writing tended toward the elaborate, which often stretched out scenes and made the story feel as if it was dragging. Better world building could have made Endure more understandable, and a less-is-more approach to the writing could have improved the flow and made for a more involving read.

Overall, though, I think the author has created an interesting world and left the door open for intriguing sequels. I think any young reader who enjoys dystopian fiction will be interested in Endure.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Fortune’s Scion by Ann Gimpel

December 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment

SCION
Fortune’s Scion by Ann Gimpel
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA
Length: Full Length (154 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

Raised by wizards who never missed an opportunity to remind him of his deficiencies, Ned grows up believing his mage skills are seriously lacking. Conscripted at an early age, he fears it’s a back-handed way to ensure he sustains an honorable death in battle.

Battling prejudice, insidious lies and lack of knowledge about his mage powers—which are really quite different from wizard magic—Ned finds ways to keep going. His first mission away from the wizards teaches him he’s stronger and more resourceful than he thought. Against stiff odds, he learns different isn’t necessarily bad and true love has a way of shining through.

Will Ned complete his mission, or leave the world of wizards behind forever?
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Ned’s life has been little better than a nightmare. Even though the wizards have treated him terribly, they are the only family he knows. With the war against the Infernals going poorly, Ned is sent on a mission to find some help. His chance of success is slim, but Ned is grateful for the opportunity to get away from the battlefield. Once he has some distance between himself and the wizards, Ned’s first taste of freedom is intoxicating. Belittled and bullied by the wizards for his entire life, Ned now finds himself in an interesting position. Does he complete his mission and return to the wizards who raised him, or slip away and make his own fate?

It is very easy to like Ned. Despite his upbringing, Ned is a kind young man. Unfortunately, the wizards have all but crippled his self-confidence. I have a soft spot for underdogs, so I found it very easy to cheer for Ned. I can’t believe he has stayed with the wizards as long as he has. I certainly wouldn’t blame Ned if he turned his back on them when given the opportunity.

Everything changes when Ned saves Amanda’s life. Even though she is a complete stranger, Ned doesn’t hesitate to put his own life at risk to save her. It is the first indication that Ned is made of stronger stuff than he realizes. As Ned experiences love and kindness for the first time in his life, he starts to see the world differently, making his decision regarding his mission very clear. I must say, it was a pleasure to watch Ned grow into a strong and courageous man.

The world Ned inhabits is interesting and filled with a variety of unique people and creatures. However, I feel that the story needed a lot more detail to fully round out the mythology that Ms. Gimpel crafted. As I read, there were several times when I found myself frustrated when details were sacrificed in favor of a faster pace. I wanted to know more about mages, wizards, and how the Earth got into such a terrible state. Sometimes a bit of explanation was provided concerning these topics, and sometimes they were completely glossed over. Despite this issue, I will say that Ms. Gimpel always provided enough information to keep the plot moving smoothly and avoid confusion.

Overall, I think Fortune’s Scion is a good book. Ned is a great character and I truly enjoyed watching him grow into a fine young man. I recommend Fortune’s Scion to anyone looking for a fast paced fantasy with a touch of romance.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,
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