Shiver

by  Maggie Stiefvater

Reviewed by

Devin O’Donnell

In the small town of Mercy Falls, Grace Brisbane was attacked by wolves in her backyard when she was eleven. The only reason she is alive today is because a yellow eyed wolf saved her from his pack. Six years later, Grace still watches "her wolf" every day during the winter, and watches him disappear in the summer. What Grace does not expect is seeing her wolf as a human, and begging for help.

Sam Roth is a slave to the seasons. In the summer, he is a normal, seventeen year old boy. In the winter, he makes a dramatic change into his other skin: a wolf from the wolf pack residing in Grace's town. When a hunt is called on the wolves, Sam is shot and goes to Grace in his human form for help.

As the story progresses, Sam and Grace grow closer and closer, Grace finally being with her wolf and Sam being with the girl he defied his nature for. Sam and Grace fight for the pack, their friends, and for each other in the first book of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

Stiefvater has a way with words in her writing as she takes Sam and Grace around Minnesota. She takes advantage of Sam's heightened wolf senses as she describes the surroundings perfectly, from the twinkling lights to the smells of a nearby candy shop. This may seem like a stereotypical werewolf love story, but it is about so much more than that. It is about striving under pressure and about overcoming your past, but not quite letting go.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

By Jennifer E. Smith

Reviewed by

Lucy McGrew

Hadley Sullivan isn't quite sure why she's at the airport, scheduled for a flight to London where she will be in her father's wedding to a woman she's never even met. Yet there she is, and better yet she has missed her flight. By four minutes. She can't believe it, but as the story continues, she realizes how much four minutes can change her life.

At the airport waiting for the next flight, she meets Oliver, a British boy going to London too, occupying a ticket for a seat one space away. On the plane, Oliver switches seats with the lady next to Hadley, and what results is an edge-of-your seat, nail-biting plane ride. The reader is enthralled by Hadley and Oliver's connection.

Hadley has to consider her relationship with her dad: it's teetering on the edge of complete collapse. She is confused by who she is, and why her life has been slowly falling apart. She can't seem to forgive him for leaving and never coming back. But meeting Oliver changes everything, including the way she views her world.

This novel is one of second chances, and forgiveness. It is tear-jerking and heartfelt. The title and the whole meeting-a-cute-boy-on-a-plane seems clichéd but the story is far from that- it is original and gripping. I truly could not put it down. I would recommend it to readers of John Green, and people who like realistic fiction. You won't regret your choice to pick up The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.

Enchanted

by Alethea Kontis

Reviewed by 

Elizabeth Mosolovich

Sunday is the youngest of the Woodcutter's daughters, named for the day she was born. Sunday loves to tell stories, but they have a nasty habit of coming true sometimes, which is why she prefers writing them down in a book when she is outside.

And it is outside where she meets her friend the frog. He talks, of course, and claims to be a prince cursed to amphibian form. For a while Sunday doesn't believe him, but eventually she gives him a kiss to see what happens — and to the disappointment of both, nothing does, at first. But Sunday's frog actually was a prince — Rumbold, Crown Prince of Arilland, Sunday's own homeland. However, the Woodcutter family despises the king and prince for the harm they caused their son and brother, Jack, and wants nothing to do with them or their politics or fancy balls. But in a twisted Cinderella fashion, Rumbold decides to throw a ball to see if he can find his old friend, and present himself to her as a man and not a creature.

This rather fast-paced and humorous story is a mashed-up retelling of so many different fairy tales and nursery rhymes, it's almost ridiculous. But, as the title suggests, it's also magical and thrilling and very enchanting. For a while there's the mystery of what happened to Jack, and when Sunday will realize that Rumbold is actually her frog-prince. Each of Sunday's sisters (named the rest of the way from Monday to Saturday) has a distinct personality and adds a nice touch to the story, and morose Wednesday has a big part to play as well.

For those who enjoy different interpretations of folk stories, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes, then this book is definitely for you. Pick it up and get ready for an enchanting adventure!

Ink

by Amanda Sun

Reviewed by

Elizabeth Mosolovich

After the death of her mother and due to an outdated will, Katie Green is forced to move in with her aunt- in Shizouka, Japan. The book opens when she is two weeks in, homesick, and wanting nothing more than to return to Canada and live with her grandparents. As she fumbles through a totally different language and culture, she meets Yuuto Tomohiro, a mysterious and talented drawer. So talented, in fact, that his pictures actually come off the page!

Tomo is a jerk at some times, and cruel at others, but Katie is intrigued by his secrets, and is determined to know if she's going crazy or if his drawings are really coming to life.

Soon she learns that Tomohiro is actually a descendent of Kami- an ancient Japanese god, and that Katie is somehow connected to the Kami, too. But the powers that they have are dangerous and uncontrollable: the drawings begin to attack them. Throw in a power-hungry street gang hell-bent on getting their hands on the power of a god, and a radical group of Kami clamoring for a take-over of Japan, and Tomo and Katie have a lot more trouble than just cultural barriers.

This was a really fun read. It brings the reader into Japan, along with its language and culture, so I recommend this for anyone interested in that. There is a translation/glossary at the back of the book, though, I promise! The pace got a little slower as the book went on, and occasionally some scenes seemed to take away from the main plot, but otherwise this was a very good book; you should definitely give it a try!