Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 355

Review: THE NEW GIRL by Tracie Puckett

The FIRST in a FIVE-PART series.

Seventeen-year-old Steph has her heart set on a new beginning… for the eleventh time. A move to Webster Grove introduces her to a new school, new friends, and new experiences— including a few tender glances from her sexy English teacher. After signing up for a costuming position on the school production of Romeo and Juliet, co-directed by none other than the gorgeous Mr. Rivera, Steph soon learns the difficulties of withstanding the pursuit of forbidden love.





My thoughts: There’s a new girl at Webster Grove. Her name was A-B-C-D-E-F (“Step” for short)—an unusual name. She was a shy, lovely, smart artist, who had a crush on her popular and respected English teacher, Mr. Rivera. Her mother has been running from her abusive father all her life, hence, the constant moving from place to place. But with Mr. Rivera around, this place may not be all that bad.


What I couldn’t stand about Steph’s mother was how flighty and childish she was. When would she quit picking out these “internet buddies” and settle down into a place? She also couldn’t see all the beauty in Steph. Even with the bun and gaudy glasses, Steph was beautiful. Too bad her mom couldn’t see that, too. But Mr. Rivera did. “Call me Alex,” he told her. He comforted her and listened to her like no one else. There was something going on there. Something was going to happen, I predicted. I was actually looking forward to a steamy affair between them (even though that would've been gross and extremely inappropriate); but I guess everything happens (or doesn't happen) for a reason. I honestly felt the ending was a tad anti-climactic and coincidental.
I loved Steph! She had the shy sarcasm going on! She was a likable character that I may follow in the Webster Grove series. I’d like to see if Mr. Rivera comes back.

My rating: 4 stars





 

Review: VISIONS by Kimberly Readnour

In the prologue, we get a scene with a girl named April, who has apparently been kidnapped.


Then the story re-starts with Heather, a teen that has just moved with her mom for a fresh start, to forget about being clairvoyant or, in the phrase of her peers, a freak. You see, Heather has visions. She resents not being normal, which is why she’s always played it solo, never getting close to anyone. Then she meets Barry, a total hottie.


Why does Barry fear her house? What strange feeling comes over Heather over that bedroom? It turns out that she is having visions over a boy that disappeared long ago.
Told in the POV of Heather, reader experiences her visions, seeing and feeling what the victims felt.


For the most part, this was an easy and compelling read. I liked the concept of psychic visions and it was somewhat of a good mystery, but I felt the drama was daunting. Heather just over-dramatized everything—her feelings for Barry, her resentment toward her mother, her fear of being discovered a freak, etc. Also, the case for the missing boy was a tad anticlimactic; that could’ve been more compelling. I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to read the second in the series, especially seeing that it concerns some government corruption. Nah, I think I’ll pass.

My rating: 3 stars

Review: GRAVITY by Abigail Boyd

15-year old Ariel is a sad, pathetic girl that lost her friend a year ago and is now seeing her image everywhere.

Story had a slow start. All she really talks about is her boring parents and the monotonous cliché that is high school (although Henry was a little interesting.)
"What about me? I'm what's missing. You can't go until you find me." Jenna's voice rings in her head. And it is this very thing that piques your curiosity. The story begins to go in misguided directions with Ariel's dreams. First of all, you can't even tell what's a dream and what's not a dream. Is this a psychological thriller? Is it a ghost story? Is this girl being haunted or what?
The whole thing is mainly Ariel talking about the people around her. She just goes on and on and on and...Grrr
My rating: 2 stars

Review: THE MYSTERY BOX by Eva Pohler

A strange box has arrived at Yvette's door, but it doesn't belong to her; it belongs to the "Witchy Woman," a mean old neighbor. What to do? Keep it or deliver it? I wouldn't do a thing. Now she's stuck listening to some old crone's kooky story, and it's boring. And the only reason Yvette's listening is so she can find out what happened to the baby. Who cares?

What's even more annoying is that old bag's story kept getting interrupted throughout the book, bouncing back and forth between past and present, from Mona to Yvette, jumping from one dull tale to another.
I was allured by the mystery of the box, but this was disappointing.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: HAUNTED by Heather Beck

These are referred to as the “horror diaries,” which are basically a collection of scary stories. But don’t be fooled by this. They are not scary at all.
In one story, Chase tries to stop a landscape from being demolished, but the place is also inhabited by ghosts.
In “A Haunting Past,” a boy gets mixed up in an ancient tribal legend on a museum visit.
Because the main characters are kids, these tales are definite suited for that audience.
Nice and clean; easy to read.


My rating: 3 stories

Review: 3 A.M. by Nick Pirog

How would you feel only being awake for an hour and sleeping for the remaining 23? Can you imagine all the things you have to get done in one hour? Not possible! Henry Bins is not a prodigy; he’s a miracle worker!

The interesting thing was what he witnesses the final minute before he falls back asleep: the president walking out of a house, where a woman just screamed. Strange.  But was it really him? And how do you even begin to handle a situation like this?
Witty, at times, this story takes the reader on a grueling, exhausting task of clandestine—often bumbling—exploits. He’s only awake for an hour, for god sakes! And, of course, he has no idea what he’s doing.
Eventually, it started to feel like one of those clumsy James Bond investigations. How do you unlock the secret conspiracies of the White House? Henry Bins actually reminded me of a white version of Will Smith from his Enemy of the State movie. He did spend way too much time talking to that cat though. And perhaps the story swerved into the political thriller genre, which I’m not too keen on, and, admittedly, the mystery sort’ve died down on me. It sounded exciting at the beginning, but then, after a while, I found I couldn’t have cared less on who killed the woman. The whole story was nothing but: wake up, investigate for an hour, then sleep for a REALLY long time. (Rewind & Repeat)
Shoot, I was actually getting sleepy while reading this myself.

My rating: 2 stars

Review: OPEN MINDS by Susan Kaye Quinn

Story is pretty much about a girl that goes to a school for mind readers. Oookay!

The girl is a late bloomer so she can't read minds like the others, which makes the "social pariah." If the teachers are mind-speaking while teaching, she needs to wear a hearing aid. So if she doesn't mind read soon, she'll never get into college and never get a job. It's like they're in some kind of special universe where anything is possible, but the everyday norm still happens as they're living in Chicago.
I honestly thought this whole thing was too wacky and far-fetched to grasp.

My rating: 2 stars

Review: SPINE CHILLERS by Q.L. Pearce

Two boys take a tour of a haunted house on Beech Street unprepared for what they were about to see.
A wild night in a safari park turns sinister with a lizard man on the prowl.
A ghost that seeks revenge for old wounds.
These stories were well-written and full of irony. Classified as “hare-raising tales,” they certainly give you a spook. They’re not scary, but they’re spine chillers.
Stories combine horror and adventure. A great read!

My rating: 4 stars

Review: 100 BY 100: STORIES IN 100 WORDS by M.L. Kennedy

A picture’s worth 1000 words; these stories each have but 100.
“30 Days of Santa” had a creepy test and it almost read like “Twas the Night before Christmas.”
“April Showers” was a clever rendition on the fortuitous rain that cleansed the blood of April’s hands.
“Ennui” is about a poltergeist that can’t wait to haunt the living.
These snap shot tales were witty, quirky, and full of irony. They gave just enough for snarky quip, but, of course, the only downfall was that it leaves the reader wanting more. To me, these read almost like haikus rather than stories, which is not a bad thing. I love short stories. They give you just enough without becoming too much, like a snack before dinner. Well, these tales were more like a spoon full, giving readers more of a taste rather than a good bite. Some were pretty good while others were downright puzzling and weird.
All in all, this was an unorthodox approach to the short story. It was interesting, but I guess I’m more of a traditionalist.  

My rating: 3 stars

Review: PARANORMAL: THE OLD WOMAN’S PAINTINGS by Lamees Alhassar

This story is comprised of three chapters. Not sure if you can call this a short story or a novella.
For me, this started off pretty slow. It all starts with a boss meeting a new hire named Nigel. They exchange some formal words, discussing something about a “job.”  Then they approach the old woman they attempted to rob. But she is no ordinary woman.
Story, overall, was lukewarm and anticlimactic. It didn’t read much like a paranormal. By the end, I was like, “eh.”

My rating: 2.5 stars