Tag: YA (Page 2 of 2)

The Nearly Calamitous Taming of PZ by Martha Ritter

August 4, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

A charming, classic adventure tale about the scary, crazy, and heart-thumpingly joyful plunge into connecting with others.

A mute, nameless foxhound has spent her life in a laboratory cage. She has never seen the sun. When she gets rescued, Dottie, a diva ladybug with a heart as big as her hat, helps the dog understand the world and find a home with Olivia, a restless, solitary girl seeking comfort that her new pet cannot supply.

The isolated dog and the hesitant girl must face their fear of connecting. They learn to tame each other, let go, survive adventures, and find the courage to trust as they search for their place in the sun.

The Nearly Calamitous Taming of PZ— lyrical and approachable, with resonant details–has both humor and heart. Although intended for children eight through twelve, its classic unfolding and off-beat characters tickle the fancy of adults as well. It is both an adventure story and a tale with many layers–about overcoming obstacles, mining experience for what matters, and doing what is necessary, though not always desirable, for friendship. Ultimately, it is about the joy of a hard-won connection.

The classic illustrations–with a contemporary edge–reflect this fresh, poignant, wise, and sometimes downright wacky book.

Thanks to author Martha Ritter for giving me this book for review! I had the pleasure of meeting her at BookCon 2015, and we had a wonderful conversation about many different things. We discussed a book called Nest by Esther Ehrlich that I had previously reviewed, and wondered if PZ could be comparable to it.

Happily, I can state that yes, PZ is just as wonderful, touching, funny, poignant, and full of good feels as NEST. The plot is simple: lab dog ends its usefulness, goes to shelter, gets adopted, and learns about the world. It’s the telling of the story: sometimes from the dog’s point of view, sometimes from the adopters, which makes it so beautiful and a joy to read.

Your emotions will range from tears to glee as PZ navigates through a world she’s never even known existed. Dotty, the ladybug that lives in her ear (just under the flap) encourages the former lab dog to be strong and learn how to be true to herself. There are moments where you can completely understand what the dog is thinking, as a situation arises, and PZ reacts. I could see her trying to go through a doorway and finding it terrifying, so much so that I was able to transfer her fictional emotions to living canines I’ve encountered. (I’m a vet tech by trade and felt that reading this book gave me better tools to cope with scared dogs at my clinic.)

The family that adopts PZ is a broken one. The father passed away a year ago, and the 11-year-old Olivia is getting skinny due to lack of appetite, and often bursts into tears. She and PZ circle each other warily at first, each doubting each other’s ability to be a good companion. There are disappointments and triumphs, and you can see how the girl and the dog truly help each other to grow and learn.

Towards the end of the book, there is an event that affects the relationship between the shelter dog and grieving girl. I can’t say I saw it coming, but it is fitting and beautifully written. The author has created suspense and it is easy for the reader to want a happy ending, to hope that Olivia and PZ can work together as a team. (No spoilers–you must read the book yourself!)

I felt I would be able to read this story without tearing up or laughing aloud. I was wrong! There is pathos and humor that fits perfectly together, and the plot advances seamlessly. What a perfect way to convey so many ideas: love, trust, uncertainty, and growth. The illustrations complement the story and add that other dimension of having a perfect picture of what the characters look like. The drawings are alternately moving and comic, without being too complicated.

Want your own copy? Yes, you do. Everyone should read this book.

You can pick it up here.

May 1, 2015 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Can two teenage girls save a town?

When Loren Cofton and Tracie Marinez visit the remote hills of northeastern Nevada on a cross- country drive celebrating their high school graduation, the fun vacation quickly morphs into a perilous adventure.

After photographing an abandoned gold mine, Loren swipes a bottle of water from an eerily robotic man stocking bottles in the only occupied store of an otherwise deserted shopping center. The water’s effect on Loren leads the pair to investigate the strange little town of Corsonia–despite threats from the local sheriff. And when Loren and Tracie befriend a child named Boy 11, who tells them about his curious life and upcoming fate, the girls become even more determined to figure out what is going on.

As the relentless teens uncover a horrifying trail of evil, they put their own lives in dire jeopardy. Will the girls be able to rescue the people of Corsonia–or will Loren and Tracie become the town’s next victims?

Many thanks to the author for providing this free review copy to me!

CORSONIA starts out with a benign trip; two best friends are exploring ghost towns and complaining about the heat. As the blurb notes, drinking some local water opens the girls up to unspeakable evil being perpetrated. Loren is a strong willed girl who takes it upon herself to bring justice to the townspeople, much to Tracie’s dismay. The girls concoct a plan to sneak back into the town and gather information, solving problems and escaping danger time and time again.

This book was a pretty straightforward read: girls discover problem, girls try to solve problem, girls run into trouble. I enjoyed very much how the main characters were portrayed as strong women with character and intent, not ditzy females clamoring about boys and makeup. As Tracie must make decisions for herself more and more, you can see her persona develop and she comes into her own at the end. The girls solve their own problems and take responsibility if things don’t go as planned.

There is minimal backstory for Loren and Tracie, but that was fine–I enjoyed reading about this single chapter in their lives and didn’t wonder much about what happened before they went on their road trip. Their relationship is solid and their teenage dialogue reflects close friends, complete with eye rolling and awareness of what the other will do in any given situation.

The author does well to paint a picture of bleak existence; the inhabitants of Corsonia are robot like and appropriate. I could feel the dust blowing in my eyes and needed a drink of water myself, as I read about the girls trekking aross the deserted city.

Later on in the book, there is a confrontation between the bad guys and Tracie—there is a great deal of violence, which surprised me. It seemed different from the rest of the story somehow. The plot advances with the action, but the bloodshed was disconcerting; and I found a lack of emotion at times in Tracie’s reaction (or non-reaction). It almost seemed surreal as the bodies piled up. That is the only complaint I have about CORSONIA; otherwise there is some quiet humor and sly little details that are quite funny, such as Tracie complaining about her fake beard itching (they disguise themselves at one point) or the immense cupcake consuming capacity of the evil Merlynn. It also seemed that most of the men weren’t able to make decisions on their own; the women are the leaders all through the book. That’s a refreshing change, for sure.

The strength of the book is the tenacity and nerve of the lead characters. They are good role models, as girls who have the courage and desire to help those less fortunate. If Tracie and Loren showed up in another book, solving another mystery, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Want your own copy? You can pick it up [easyazon_link identifier=”B00R6DNGM8″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”gimmethatbook-20″]here[/easyazon_link].

Heritage by Tara Ellis

October 1, 2014 / Kyle Wendy Skultety / 0 Comments

Heritage is book #2 of the Forgotten Origins trilogy, and it’s much deeper and more detailed than Bloodlines, book #1. The story picks up about a month after the pyramids have been activated, and the state is under martial law. Alex and Chris must reach out to the authorities and try to combat the forces of evil. The journey is difficult, as they are being stalked at every turn. Is Alex truly safe? Will she become a Shiner? And what of the mysterious Seth, of the Mudameere? His path keeps crossing Alex’s, and she can’t help but notice how handsome he is. Are they really on opposite sides…..or is their fate predetermined according to ancient Egyptian history?

Author Tara Ellis has done well with the plot exposition in Heritage. There is a great deal of action, the character development is more thorough, and the reader will learn about history and ancient beliefs, along with a bit of conspiracy theory. From the Pacific Northwest to a biodome built under the ocean, Alex and her crew will race against time to save the planet and try to convince the Nephilim that the human race should not be annihalated.

Some questions are answered, and new questions are posed. Hopefully, the answers to ALL questions will be revealed in the third and final book, Descent, published September 30th.

Click here to get your copy of Heritage, and here for Descent.