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 Scary States of America by Michael Teitelbaum

Warning: This book is not for the faint of heart. Some of these stories are scary, but some are just plain weird. Yet they're all true. For example, the bleeding house in Georgia was at one time the home of a serial killer. There are also some tales that aren't scary, they just have to do with the paranormal, like the statue of a little girl that comes to life and hides during thunderstorms. This book is for people who are ready to face the paranormal in their home state.

This book did scare me, but it was also fascinating to see what unusual things happen in each state. I didn't love the stories about the creatures such as the lizardman or the real-life werewolf, but the others were good. A story of the girls who got lost in the lighthouse made me feel really sad and scared because anyone could follow after and die. I would recommend this book to people who laugh at the paranormal. However, I would advise people to proceed with caution.

Reviewer Age:12

Reviewer City, State and Country: Exeter, NH US