Wish by Alexandra Bullen

Wish

by Alexandra Bullen

Wish is an impressive debut effort from Alexandra Bullen...and a brave step - looking into the "what if's" of sibling grief.

This book could have been silly but Bullen pulls you into Oliva's fantasy and you are ready to believe that she has her sister back...but as with all things magical, at some point you have to deal with reality.

I loved the writing style in Wish and feel that young girls as well as teens/YA's will enjoy this book - it speaks their language. My recommendation would be for Intermediate and High School (8th - up).

I am so excited to finally have my first book under my belt for the 2010 Debut Author Challenge from The Story Siren's great blog!!!

Product Description from Amazon

For broken-hearted Olivia Larsen, nothing can change the fact that her twin sister, Violet, is gone... until a mysterious, beautiful gown arrives on her doorstep. The dress doesn't just look magical; it is magical. It has the power to grant her one wish, and the only thing Olivia wants is her sister back.

With Violet again by her side, both girls get a second chance at life. And as the sisters soon discover, they have two more dresses-and two more wishes left. But magic can't solve everything, and Olivia is forced to confront her ghosts to learn how to laugh, love, and live again.

In a breathtaking debut from Alexandra Bullen, WISH asks the question: If you could have anything, what would you wish for?

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen

bu Lauren Kate

Exciting new direction in YA Fantasy!, December 26, 2009

By	Reading It All (Orange County, CA USA) - See all my reviews

For those of your, like me that are done with the whole "vampire as hero" thing - this newest genre will be refreshing.

In Fallen, Lauren Kate takes us into the world of Fallen Angels...and, as with the vampire books, each author's take on this newest breed to populate our space is slightly different.

In Fallen we meet Luce Price - a young woman who, with each passing year has felt less and less in control of her life. She is fighting off demons of the mind in the form of dark shadows that appear and take over parts of her life...as well as demons of the past.

As the book opens she finds herself entering a school for troubled teens - and in Fallen we watch as she goes through the motions of fitting in and trying to keep the shadows at bay. Enter Daniel Grigori...

While the romance between Luce and Daniel is certainly the central point of this book, it handles a lot of issues, responsibility, mental illness, loss, parental love, friendship and more. I am not going to spoil this story for those of you looking forward to this book - but - I do want to take on the most common the negative comment about this book.

Character development - I really feel that way Lauren Kate handled the slowly unfolding story of each character gives us an honest view through Luce's eyes - the story is being told from her viewpoint and until fairly close to the end she is in the dark. This technique - I think - works in this book.

If you have just started this book and are finding the read a little slow at the start, first you are probably not a teenaged reader, and second stay with it...it closes with a BANG!

I am really looking forward to the next book in from this author - can't wait to learn more about Luce and her life after Sword & Cross.

Just as a side note - this book will appeal to readers of Hush, Hush by Becca Kirkpatrick.

Product Description from Amazon

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.