Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

'Falling under' is about Theia Alderson, an exceptionally overprotected girl who has never really had any interest in the male gender. Theia s disinterest appears that it will continue forever, or at least till she is out of the grips of her father. However, a new, utterly beautiful and utterly mysterious new student threatens to change all that. His dark past and allure is only magnified by the fact that he has been slipping through her dreams for weeks, before she had ever laid eyes on him. He sends her mixed signals, flirting with her through her subconscious, touching her with his mind, kissing her so she can feel it somehow, when he is yards away. What is he? Who is he really? Is this book just 'Twilight' down to the letter? All important questions, all of which are answered in Falling Under.

At first glance, 'Falling under' IS 'Twilight'. For the first 100 pages, there is not really a difference to be found. This had the potential to be annoying, and the author realized this. She managed to make the book poke fun at itself and its similarities to the saga within the dialogue. The best example of this is in the book, during one scene, (which is the 'Falling Under' equivalent of the famous Say it. Out loud. scene from 'Twilight'), it shamelessly points out the glaringly obvious and slightly humorous similarities to the saga. Theia actually says 'You aren' t going to tell me that you are a vampire who sparkles in the sunlight, ARE YOU?' Luckily, Haden is a demon, not a vampire, and about 50 times more believable and WAY more attractive than Edward can ever dream of being. In my opinion, this is a much better book, written with MUCH better technique, and the audience quickly forgets the saga altogether as the plotline gets more intense. The hilarious, dark cast of minor characters (including a drag-queen psychic, a man-eating, gorgeous goth girl, a terrifying demon queen and a beautiful, but naive best friend) make this book edgy, enjoyable and funny. A lesser author with the same plot would have found it impossible to make this story not be depressing, due to the incredibly sad and dark subject matter, but there is never a point where our hearts remain broken for too long, which is a very, very selling quality. A gripping, uplifting tale of growing up and teenage rebellion, 'Falling Under' is to be one of the best books of the year.


Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter, NH USA

The Last Seal

In the year 1380, Stephen Blake of the Liberati released the demon Dantalion. The demon was stopped by the sorcerer Cornelius Silver who trapped Dantalion in a new prison. For 286 years, the demon was trapped beneath London. Now, in 1666, Artemas and the evil Liberati are working to bring the demon back to wreak havoc on the unknowing people of London and the rest of the world. It is up to Benjamin, a school-skipping schoolboy; Freya, a thief; Dr. Tobias Janssen, a Dutch doctor on the run from the King s personal spy; and Gabriel, the only one left of the Praesidium, the group that works against the evil Liberati. Artemas is gathering the supplies and knowledge needed to raise the demon. He also needs
Ben, who is the flesh and bone and blood of the man who imprisoned the demon, Cornelius Silver.
Ben and his friends must stop Artemas. The world is at stake. The Liberati and the Praesidium must fight.  It will be the battle that causes the Great Fire of London and destroys 13,000 homes and leaves 70,000 out of London's population of 80,000 homeless. Will Ben, Freya, Tobias, and Gabriel be able to stop the demon from rising and save their precious London?
The Last Seal by Richard Denning was an interesting book. It is a fantasy book with a hint of historical fiction. One of the main events this book talks about is the Great Fire of London. I found this book more enjoyable after I looked it up and learned a little about what the Great Fire of London actually was.
There were times in this book where I felt nervous and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen. At other times, the book didn t seem to be going anywhere. Overall though it was a pretty good book.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country:
Harleysville, PA USA