At LitPick, we review books from a variety of genres, as well as enjoy promoting reading and writing worldwide among adults and students. We also like connecting authors and publishers with readers.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Speculation and Keeping It Real with Fantastic Fiction by Helen Lowe
The same observation could be made about all fiction, of course, since it’s all “made up.” The process of that making, while aided by leaps of creative imagination, requires acute observation and understanding of people and the forces at play in human society. No matter how fantastic the setting, the reader has to believe in the characters at an emotional level or the story will not ring true—and if the author is successful in creating emotionally believable characters, then in that sense the story is real.
Focusing specifically on Fantasy and Science Fiction, a recently popular name for both genres is “speculative fiction”—and it is speculation that enables both writers and their readers to explore alternative ideas of how a world or society might be. Ursula Le Guin is one writer who has been particularly adept at this over a long period of time. A number of reviewers have also commented on the matter-of-fact equality of men and women in the Derai society of The Heir of Night. The opportunity to create a society where this is simply the case, without either "discussion or worthy treatise" (SFX), is what speculative fiction is all about.
As a writer, I love asking why and what if questions and having the freedom to answer them without being bound by what we know has happened in history, or constrained too much by the laws of physics. In fact, it’s always been a big part of the fascination, and also the fun, of Fantasy for me—and a valid way of taking a “rain check” on reality.
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About Helen Lowe
Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet and interviewer. Her latest novel, The Heir of Night, the first of THE WALL OF NIGHT quartet, was published in the USA, Australia and New Zealand in October 2010 and is newly published in the UK. Helen’s first novel, Thornspell, (Knopf, 2008) won the 2009 Sir Julius Vogel Award for “Best Novel, Young Adult.” She blogs on the first of every month on the Supernatural Underground and every day on her own Helen Lowe on Anything, Really site.
Friday, March 04, 2011
Fruitbasket From Hell (ebook) by Jason Krumbine
A genius celebrity comes to him for help to look for his daughter. The catch is that his daughter is a Satanist and she is most likely dead. The only thing that makes him take the case is a check worth one million dollars. Now it is up to Alex to solve this mystery while at the same time he must stay alive long enough to at least spend his million.
I really did like the book. The author kept a serious but humorous attitude though out the book which kept me reading and focused. The one thing I do think that Jason Krumbine needs to work on it how much detail he gives. I do like detail but he went a little over board. Other then that I enjoyed his tale and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
Reviewer Age:20
Reviewer City, State and Country: Az city, Arizona USA
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Saraswati's Way by Monika Schroder
Monika's writing is strong and enjoyable. It makes you want to read it in one sitting. One of my favorite things about it is how it makes you feel you are at Akash s side throughout the book. I would certainly read more novels by Monika. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to imagine being in another person's shoes. Overall I think it's a excellent book.
Reviewer Age:12 Uxbridge, Mass. USA
I Am Nuchu by Brenda Stanley
I found this book to be so full of action and adventure that I could hardly put it down to go to sleep. I admire Cal's persistence in unraveling the mystery of his aunt's murder, and to catching his brother's killer. I think the book was filled with rich sensory words that painted a picture of the Utah scenery and made you feel like you were there living in the moment. I thoroughly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good mystery full of anticipation.
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Makanda, Illinois USA
Candy Wars by Robert Cordiner
I thought the book was awesome. I would recommend it to all my friends. I love how the author wrote in both James' and Emily's perspectives on the war so you can see both sides of the story. I think it's really unique how she puts brother and sister on different sides of the war. We all know that brothers and sister fight sometimes but R.G. cordiner made it as if they were fighting on different sides of a war - which they were. They just did not know that the other was on the other side.
Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: katy, texas USA
Rags and Riches by Mary Pope Osborne
Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce have done an excellent job in their account of life in 19th century London, England in their new book Rags and Riches Kids in the Times of Charles Dickens. They describe in page turning words what life is like for both rich kids and poor kids during that time.
The details given by the main characters Jack and Annie describe everything from clothing and work to vacations and royalty and the illustrations make the words on the page come to life. Much of the novel is spent as seen through the great author Charles Dicken's eyes and how he saw life around him. It is this life that he depicts in his well known novels A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist.
I highly recommend this book because not only is it fun to read, but also because you will learn so much about a fascinating time in history.
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Cary, NC USA
The Wolf Tree by John Claude Bemis
First thing I have to say is - this book was really confusing.(Even more so than The Fire Eternal series, if you've read that.) It really doesn't help that there were ten or so characters in the first couple of chapters. After reading to chapter 10 or so, it was less confusing, but still a little hard to understand. I think it is because this is the second book, so you definitely need to read the first before reading this. Other than that, the book was okay. It was interesting to read about the affects of the darkness, and loved the part with the rougarou and the Great Tree. In all, the book was okay, once you understood it.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Santa Fe, TX USA
Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel by David Goodberg
Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel by David Goodberg is a book full of hilarious tales of cloning, time travelling, and alien planets. The book takes place in the future when time travel companies have become as normal as Wal-Mart stores. For example, in the story The Perfectionist, a lady, Jane Swanson, uses time travel to go back into her past to make her life better. Jane tells her former self lottery numbers and useful information for the future. Once she has cautioned her priego, he former self, Jane goes back to the future with an entirely new life. She is rich beyond belief and has the best family. Jane believes she is now truly happy. Although, some time travels don't necessarily work out well. In the story '21x' a man named Ben Bucksley acquires a little plastic watch. The only thing the watch says on it is '21x'. Ben presses buttons on the watch, but it doesn't work. Ben tries to fix it, but realizes he can't. He holds on to the watch so maybe he can give it to someone else or try again later. By holding onto the watch, Ben finds out there is more to the watch than being a plastic piece of junk. The watch really reverses time by twenty-one minutes. Ben uses this with caution at first, but then the power drives him crazy. Eventually, the watch appears to stop working and Ben is caught. Stories like 'The Perfectionist' and '21x' are just the beginning of even more wacky and entertaining tales that Goodberg takes the reader on.
David Goodberg's short stories aren't just humorous, but very thought provoking. Every story has a message behind it, whether the story is one page long or three pages long. Each story has the same setting and future-lingo though. If a reader were to just pick up the book and start with the very beginning story and not read the prologue, it would be confusing. The prologue was nice to have and cleared up many of the questions from the beginning. Goodberg's novel isn't a Douglas Adams book where it is almost pure satire, but it does have it's funny parts and sad parts. I really enjoyed Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel and I would recommend it to young adults because some of the stories of death can be graphic.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Brownsburg, Indiana United States of America
I Am Here by Ema Toyama
I believe that i am here! accurately describes the life of a young girl who is a loner. The reader instantly feels sympathy for Sumino as she encounters other students who run into her or claim that they never saw her because she is invisible. Anyone who has felt left out may connect with Sumino. The hope that Hinata gives her is equivalent to a true friend that one may make in real life. Being a manga, the drawings are done very well, and the facial expressions of the characters match the tone of the book. I recommend this book to someone who likes to read female manga and to those who feel like the character Sumino matches their own situations. This manga is inspirational and shows the benefits to working hard for what you want to achieve.
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America
Penny Dreadful by Laurel Snyder
I found this book very interesting, because I could relate to Penny and her desire for something new and adventurous to happen. The characters in this book were very interesting and very well described. I also enjoyed the fact that the author used a lot of dialogue, since it helped me visualize the story more accurately. I would recommend this books to readers between 8-10 years old. The book as a whole was very good but I liked the ending better than the beginning because the beginning seemed to talk about the same things for a long time and continued to mention them to frequently.
Reviewer Age:11
Reviewer City, State and Country: Boothwyn, PA USA
Old Photographs by Sherie Posesorski
confused elderly woman, she has no idea how drastically
this will affect the rest of her summer. The main
character of Old Photographs, by Sherie Posesorski,
Phoebe, has been going on solitary bike rides through town
until she stops at a garage sale and notices Mrs. Tomblin,
a frail old woman, struggling to count money and deal with
customers. Phoebe helps Mrs. Tomblin and becomes almost
like a grandchild to the old woman. After Mrs. Tomblin s
house is broken into, and several valuable photographs are
taken, it is up to Phoebe and her friends Colin and Yuri
to solve the crime and determine the culprit in this fast-
paced mystery.
The prospect of a mystery is enough to
tempt any reader, but Old Photographs was unfortunately
lacking in several areas. The plot, for example, seemed
slightly forced and predictable, such as the
confrontations between Phoebe and her mother. Also, the
language was too loose and informal for my taste. However,
I did enjoy getting to know some of the characters, who,
for the most part, were fresh and original. I was
disappointed with the mystery aspect, because it was
fairly easy to identify the culprit from the beginning. I
would not recommend this book because it was written at a
low level and not worth the time it took to read it.
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country:
Bayside, WI U.S.A.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Shadowspell by Jenna Black
should fear themselves. Dana Hathaway has finally got
some order to her life and can now come and go from her
hideout fairly easily without too much hassle, but when
the Erlking and his posse come to town, all of that
changes. Her father fears that the Erlking was sent by
the Courts to eliminate Dana and has more or less set her
on lockdown unless she necessarily has to leave, taking at
least two bodyguards with her. When the Erlking saves
Dana from the clutches of her dear, evil aunt Grace and
her hiree, she begins to wonder if he isn't out to hurt
her after all, but when he tricks Ethan, Dana's sort of
boyfriend, into attacking him and then takes him as his
slave, Dana is without a doubt confused. She has no idea
what he wants from her, but she knows that she must get
Ethan back, but what Dana doesn't realize is how dangerous
it can be to bargain with the Erlking.
The second
installment in the Fairewalker series, Shadowspell, was an
enjoying read and had me guessing as to what was come
throughout the entire novel. Although I enjoyed reading
Shadowspell, I probably would have enjoyed the story more
if the setting was not located all around the same area
throughout the entire novel; it made for less intrigue
because the main character did not really go anywhere
besides her safehouse and a little around town. I was
captivated by the overall appeal of the new main
character, the Erlking, which the author, Jenna Black,
added to the story; scenes that included him always kept
my attention and made the plotline much more interesting.
Surprised by how much Dana had grown as a person overall,
I was overjoyed to see that she had definitely matured.
The author did well with creating interesting details and
adding surprises through-out, which really helped the flow
of the story. The second novel in the riveting
Fairewalker Series, Shadowspell, was just as satisfying as
the first and leaves off at a perfect place for a
promising continuation in the third.
There was a small
amount of inappropriate language as well as sexuality and
sexual references and suggestions.
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Upper Strasburg, PA USA
The Crescent by Jordan Deen
She meets two guys - Alex and Brandon. Her heart tells her she loves Alex, her mind tells her she loves Brandon. Then, she starts to have reactions to certain people, and her senses are heightened. Brandon tells her it is because she is close to transforming -into a werewolf- and she is not with him, her true, destined mate. Lacey can't bear to hurt Alex, but she doesn't want to sign Brandon's death contract, for werewolves will die without their mate. She can't think of any way out of it, and soon she will be forced to make a decision.
I noticed on the first page alone that this book would be hard to read, there were almost no commas, and apostrophes were often misused. It made the reading slower and took the normal flow of proper grammar out. As for the story itself, it was interesting how the author viewed werewolves, they were described as much more caring and loyal than the cold-blooded beasts we normally see them as. The conflict between Alex and Brandon over Lacey's love was always shifting, one would gain the upper hand, only to fall back again. The end surprised me, and in all the book was okay.
Language and intimate relationships, some bed scenes
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Santa Fe, TX USA
Sugar Changed The World by Marc Aronson
Sugar Changed the World was an amazing book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who ever wonders about slavery. Throughout the story I began to wonder if we even deserve sugar with the way people were treated. The author really helps you connect with the slaves, but he helps you understand the slaveholders intentions too. This book is very well researched and is full of all kinds of interesting facts and opinions. You learn a lot about how sugar was invented while you read. Anyone who likes sugar would like this book!
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Broken Arrow, Ok united states
Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber
At first, this book seemed to be really good, but as I went on, it started getting more and more stereotypical. The story line was too much like every other werewolf story out there. Also, the characters never seemed to take any risk or go into action, which made the book drag on. The character, Celeste, had no backbone. Yes, the romance between Celeste and Brandon was interesting at first, but she doesn't want anyone to know she's dating him because he's from the wrong side of town. If Celeste was a true heroine, she would at least tell her friends.
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and Country: Enon, OH USA
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren
archeological dig in Italy, they expect the summer to be
filled with boring old artifacts. Instead, they find
themselves transported back in time to 16th century Italy.
After the two are separated, Gabi is taken in by a
neighboring castle. She finds herself falling for the
handsome knight who saved her when she first arrived, but
she must fight her feelings and concentrate on finding her
sister. However, getting her sister back proves to be a more
daunting task for Gabi when she finds herself trapped
between two warring castles. This fast-paced historical
fiction novel incorporates facts, adventure, and romance and
tells the unforgettable story of life in 16th century Italy.
I enjoyed this book, especially the creative way in which
facts are intertwined with the story. The main character
is easy to relate to because of her strong voice throughout
the story. The setting of a medieval castle is vividly
described, and the events in the book are clearly
explained, making the reader feel as though he is actually
there. My only criticism would be that I was disappointed
with the cliff-hanger ending, but I am excited to read the
rest of the books in the series. The dialogue is appropriate
for the teen audience and seeks to engage the reader. I
would highly recommend this book to all historical fiction
lovers!
Reviewer Age:14
Reviewer City, State and
Country: Bayside, WI USA
Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey
of many things: mystery, adventure, and romance, but
mostly fiction, since it is about vampires. In the book a
girl named Isabeau is turned into a vampire after her
parents are killed. During the French Revolution, Isabeau
went and found her way to her uncle's house. He threw a
party and that's when she met Greyhavan changes her into a
vampire and leaves her buried for 200 years. She loathes
him for doing so and is sure to seek revenge someday.
After 200 years, she is found by the hounds, an exclusive
vampire clan thought to be savage.
Then she meets Logan, one of the seven Drake
brothers, considered royalty, at their home caves for a
negotiation meeting to unite their two tribes. Montmartre
is an evil vampire who wants Logan's sister to marry him.
He is partnered with Greyhavan. Isabeau and Logan locate
him and his culprits in an attempt to catch them, but fail
in their attempt. Isabeau finds out that her people are
being attacked. She and Logan go to see if they are okay,
but end up getting attacked by helpers of Greyhavan and
Montmartre, in Isabeau's clan's caves. Isabeau and Logan
get free and flee to help Logan's family under attack as
well. They get caught again on the way by Greyhavan and
Montmartre. Isabeau is then faced with the dilemma of
making a decision to die, but seek revenge by killing
Greyhavan by herself while Logan flees, or leave with
Logan and loose her only chance at revenge.
Blood Feud takes place in the twenty-first century in Europe, and in
Isabeau's past life during the French Revolution. The tone
of the book was eery and exciting: you have the eery past
life of Isabeau's life, and the adventure of what Isabeau
and Logan go through together. There is also mystery and a
bit of humor. Isabeau is amazingly beautiful with dark
brown hair and stunning green eyes. Logan is handsome with
his his brown hair and green eye as well. This book is the
perfect mix of everything a book needs: mystery, suspense,
adventure, humor, and love. The book jumps back an forth
from the present involving Isabeau and Logan and the past
of Isabeau, which is different. It was age appropriate and
had no bad language or other inappropriate content. I
would recommend this book to others, especially vampire
lovers. I learned that getting revenge is not the answer,
that there are better choices to make. You should
definitely read this book because it grabbed my attention
right from the beginning.
Reviewer Age:14 Uxbridge, Massachusetts United States
Shiner and King by Nolan Carlson
characters are Carly and Troop. They do everything
together. They formed a club called the Mustangs. They
both are in the same class at school. One day Troop and
Carly were riding their bikes and Luke Webster (a mean
boy in the town) fell, the boys went over to him to make
sure he was OK. Luke, because he is mean, kidnapped
them. He kept them in his shed. They were soon
rescued. The dog King goes missing and they spent a lot
of time looking for him. They found him in the nick of
time. King was in danger. You'll have to read to find
out if they find and save King.
I found the book slow moving and difficult to
understand. This was Book 3 of the series and I did not
read books 1 or 2. I felt I was missing connections that
might have been clearer if I had read the previous books.
The Book didn't seem to be about the title characters
Shiner and King. Overall this book was not for me.
Reviewer Age:10 Uxbridge, MA USA
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee
What a gem! Saying that this book is extraordinary is an understatement. Buzbee s writing will keep you up at night! The book is filled with adventures and haunting details that kept me on the edge. Not only is the writing in this book astounding, the illustrations are strangely beautiful! I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Panama City, Florida United States
Zombiesque by Stephen L. Antczak
unique book. The first story would have to be my favorite!
It is an anecdote about an insatiable zombie who eats his
friends, trying to quench his thirst for blood! Even more
stories make this book a thrill. Just wait till you get
your hands on this book, you ll read it again and again!
This book gave me nightmares, that s for sure! I truly
felt like I was in the story. Each story contained vivid
details, which scared me in the most delightful way! I
couldn t put the book down! This book has a specific
audience. If you re the type of person who enjoys historic
books, back away. You must have an open mind to ghosts,
werewolves, and zombies! This book is the next best thing!
Language is bad!
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Panama City, Florida United States