Guardian (The Guardian Series, Book 1)
by Sara Mack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
How do you deal when everything has collapsed around you? At least to Emma, the whole world has collapsed and there is no reason to go on, her boyfriend James has died and she has no will to carry on. Her family and friends are worried, so her best friend Shel comes to stay for awhile, and tries to make Emma face life again. Which might have worked, if only James' spirit hadn't started talking to Emma. Now she is trying to let everyone around her think she is fine and moving on, while she is living just to spend time with James' spirit. Guardian is the position that James agreed to take in able to remain as a spirit on earth and be able to watch over Emma, the problem is, he is not suppose to be spending so much time with her, he is supposed to be training and learning to be a Guardian to someone. Author Sara Mack creates an amazing tale of young love, cut short by death, and the effects of choices on life afterwards.
Guardian is said to be the first in a series, which is good, because a number of questions are left unanswered in the first book. In this book though, we learn a great deal about James and Emma's relationship through flashbacks and dreams, which are well written and fit into the story wonderfully. From the start you find yourself feeling for Emma, crying along with her, wanting to help her heal, liking James coming back and then becoming not so sure about it. There is the side story of their friends Shel and Matt, and you find yourself enjoying that story and understanding Emma's frustration at first, but wanting the same for her again. It is a complex and deep story with a number of layers and some unexpected events that you don't see coming. I feel comfortable recommending this book to all ages of readers, given parental consent, there is no sex and only the reference to the accident and one fight scene, but it is not graphic. I feel it is a great story to read and talk about with your teens and such. Enjoy readers!
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So Shall I Reap (The Unseen Series, Book 1)
by Kathy-Lynn Cross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Balance is what the world is based on. In So Shall I Reap, we are introduced to the world of the Unseen, those on both sides as they work to keep the balance. Those on one side, the House of Dark, usually called grim reapers, take the souls as someone dies and return part of it to the River Styx to keep in flowing, the other part they give to the bridge crossers, part of the House of Light to be recopied again at a later time. It's all a cycle that bears no emotion, and happens time and time again each day. Until the day that a reaper named Tevin is sent to collect the soul of a six year old girl, Alexcia. The problem is that Alexcia is able to see him, this has never happened to him before, and after a fierce fight with Razor, the bridge crosser, Rae-Lynn, Alexcia's mother explains to Tevin that Alexcia is the Child of Balance and makes him promise to keep her safe. Author Kathy-Lynn Cross gives an amazingly complex story of a family, trying to protect their daughter, getting some things right and some things wrong. A grim reaper protecting the life of a child, which is against everything he is about, and the House of Light doing everything in its power to claim her.
Author Kathy-Lynn Cross has labeled So Shall I Reap as the first book in a series, which is good because this book ends on a huge cliff-hanger of an ending. You really only get to originally meet the characters when Alecxia was six and then we spend a couple weeks with them the month before her sixteenth birthday. As a reader, you get Alexcia's view of what is going on, and then you get Tevin's, and neither have all the answers. It seems that Rae-Lynn and Max have kept a number of secrets from them both, from Alexcia in efforts to protect her, and from Tevin, to allow him to discover it on his own and not to influence fate. There is no sex or real violence, but there is teenage drinking. It is a great read for all ages. Enjoy.
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A Healing Heart
by Melissa A. Hanson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Bailey is young and pretty, she has everything going for her until a drunk driver changes her world. In the blink of an eye she goes from a happy teen to the only survivor of a terrible accident. Why did she survive? How can she go on in life? Will the nightmares ever end? A Healing Heart is a wonderfully touching story that follows Bailey, two years after the crash as she tries to rebuild her life and move on. It will take a chance encounter with another teen who has faced their own struggles for her to come to grips with the pain and move on. Melissa A. Hanson tells a remarkable story of loss, pain and guilt that is slowly overcome by love and happiness. All this through the eyes of teenagers making it a moving and inspirational story.
A Healing Heart is a wonderful book for teens, as the main characters are high school teens who have had to face some terrible events in their lives. How they rebound from those events and what happens next will leave you in tears as you journey with them to a healing place. Viewing the story through the eyes of the teen characters sheds a different light on the feelings and emotions they have to deal with. Melissa A. Hanson writes a powerful story of survivor guilt, and how to get past it with the help of friends and family. It is an inspirational story for the young adult and teen readers, but at the same time as an adult it is a compelling read as well.
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Kathryn Cooper Review
