Morgan Elizabeth Huneke - Twisted Dreams

Twisted Dreams



By Morgan Elizabeth Huneke


Available on Amazon

Product Description (from Amazon)

“I, Calandra, of the Wingans, do bestow upon you, the Princess of Hanover, a gift. You have been given long life. I cannot interfere with that, but when you are sixteen years of age, you will prick your finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an everlasting sleep.” She stepped closer so that she could be heard only by Liesel and her parents. “Then you will at last see the truth. Be wary. Be wise. Your fate rests upon yourself.”

On her sixteenth birthday, Princess Liesel Rosanna falls victim to a sleeping curse—but wakens in another world, a prisoner of war. As the bait in a trap for her fiancé, the crown prince of Hanover, Liesel longs to escape back to the fairy tale world. The world where she is only wanting a true love’s kiss to set everything to rights.

As situations quickly grow dire, Liesel must choose which story to live, which life is real. The fate of her country rests on her decision.

About the Author (from Amazon)

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Books have always been a big part of her life, never more so than when working at the local library. Her other interests include reading, playing the piano and violin, and politics. To learn more about Morgan and her work, visit: www.morganhuneke.com or www.morganhuneke.blogspot.com

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra E. Ardnek

When Morgan announced that she was working on a Sleeping Beauty retelling for the Rooglewood contest, I was excited. I love Morgan's writing, and I love retellings, so I was eager to see how they combined.

Unfortunately, her book didn't win ... but that meant that we got the story later, all on its own with its own brilliance. Quick disclaimer here - I did beta read the book for her, which, for me, meant that I gave it a stiff edit. So I've read the story multiple times, and in multiple versions.

And Twisted Dreams is delightfully brilliant and twisted. It starts as a traditional retelling of Sleeping Beauty - with an opening that rather reminded me of Sonora and the Long Sleep by Gail Carson Levine - but even within that opening, you quickly realize that there is something very wrong. The Catileens giving gifts are the ones who seem sinister, while the Wingan granting the curse ... seems benevolent.

Things grow even stranger when the curse comes about and Liesel wakes up in a cell in a sci-fi world, now remembering a very different past. And a fiance who's the prince of the planet/country that is at war with her captors. They're holding her for extortion.

But which is the true reality?

I loved this story, it's morals, message, and twists. I'll admit that there are a few blandish characters ... but there was Matthew, the hero's younger brother. Oh, the dear, enthusiastic boy. Read the book just for him.

The worldbuilding was brilliant. For the shortness of the story, there's a surprising amount of worldbuilding in it - and as someone who loves worldbuilding, it made me so happy.

And then the theme - Sacrificial love. I love a good story of sacrificial love.

In short, go read this lovely little story. You won't regret it.

Genre/Theme: Christian, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Fairy Tale Retelling

Reading Level: TEEN - upper elementary to middle school 
Profanity: NONE - no offensive language 
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at.  
Other: 
Fighting, torture, characters are drugged. 

C. F. Fruzzetti and M. I. Pearshall - The Light Bringer's Way

The Light Bringer's Way
(The Light Bringer's Series)


By C. F. Fruzzetti and M. I. Pearshall


Available on Amazon

Product Description (from Amazon)

In book two of the The Light Bringer series, THE LIGHT BRINGER’S WAY, Whitney and Reid arrive home after their first mission and Whitney is left wondering if and when her eyesight will return. More of Reid’s secrets are revealed and Whitney discovers together they can accomplish more than she ever imagined. THE LIGHT BRINGER’S WAY deftly weaves a physical journey of adventure through Africa rife with dangerous obstacles to obtain an ancient spear of pure energy with an emotional journey of love, trust and belief. The dark and deadly path she must travel down calls on Whitney to use her strengths to survive but will she once again be able to turn adversity into advantage? Each second counts in this young adult adventure as more truth comes to light and Whitney finally discovers Karen’s hold on Reid...or does she?

About the Author (from Amazon)

Best friends since childhood, Carolyn Fruzzetti and Meghan Pearsall always knew that they would work together on a creative endeavor. In 2011, they formed Pure Energy Books and released SUNDIAL, the first novel in a young adult series.
Originally from Alexandria, VA, Carolyn currently resides in Arlington, VA with her husband and two daughters. Carolyn has a B.S. in Public Administration from James Madison University and is a professional culinary graduate of L'Academie de Cuisine.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel

Overall, I enjoyed book 2 of this series almost as much as the first one. The romance department rivets up a notch or so, and so does the action and adventure. The story picks up almost immediately at the closure of book one, so there is no interruption of the story line. In fact, the entire book takes place in very few weeks times and culminates on Halloween where the book ends with a bombshell of a discovery. The foreshadowing of this discovery is throughout both books, but believe me, you will probably miss it just like I did! Of course, the authors already have their third installment available, so no waiting to see how this will move the story along.

The story has the same setting, with another overseas adventure, this time stylized after Indiana Jones. There is even a mine train ride! The plot was excellent, speed without being too rushed, details without drowning in them, info dumps were kept to short clips in a fashion that made them seem natural. There were tons of new information that will thrill and amaze and keep you riveted at the edge of your seat for most of the story.


Basic Plot


The story opens with hours of the last books ending. The mission has been completed, but Whitney is now blind. Of course, she doesn't let that stop her. She may be blind, but she still has her intuition and she is perfectly healthy otherwise. She finds herself in a fight with Reid and manages to best him, proving to herself and others that she will manage life being blind if she needs to.

The group returns home and life resumes right where it picked up. Everyone in the high school believes Whitney was absent due to an allergic reaction to nuts, if only they knew the truth. But things don't really go back to normal, events have been set in motion, and nobody is safe, especially not the ever independent Whitney. Reid certainly has his hands full trying to keep her safe. Whitney isn't very sure she can trust Reid yet either, just what kind of hold does Karen have on him, rumors have it that she is his girlfriend and she wants him back.

But life is not going to drift back to "normal", by Chapter 3 there is a family emergency that has Reid whisking Whitney as well as her best friend Blair and Patrick off to the yacht. There they meet Reid's aunt, and she has a job for the 4 teens. The plane leaves in two weeks. She also drops some history and background into Whitney's lap and is shocked that she had no idea any of this was happening. Imagine discovering that most of what you thought was true about your life and the world around you was just a cover up for a whole sub world of people with special talents like Whitney and Reid.

The four teens arrive at their destination, where the adults will keep an eye on them as best they can, and begin to work their way toward the retrieval of a special artifact. Of course, the plans go awry almost as soon as they get settled. Que the Indiana Jones music, because shortly after they leave the plane in Chapter 8, the action will involve deep caves, molten rivers, poison darts, melting floors, mine trains, secret riddles and much more. Time is ticking. Nothing is as it seems. And everyone must face fears and learn to work together. The only other option is failure and death deep inside of the mountain puzzle.


As a whole, I enjoyed the "old world" explanations of history and how whole races of secret people with amazing talents have been manipulating legends and history from the earliest days of history. Peoples who hear more than others, see more than others, can predict time, and many more. Whitney was in for more than a few shocks and surprises.

The genre stayed true to the first book. A lot more kissing, but about the same as far as action, no gore - although their were bones. Language was mostly clean. Self Control was still a big theme, and so was learning to trust others and the importance of good communication. Whitney had a lot to learn about keeping secrets, and when it was important to share feelings rather than keeping them secret.

Genre/Theme:  Paranormal, CIA, Adventure, High School, 1980s, Sci-Fi

Reading Level:  TEEN - middle school and up
Profanity: Usually None .... but occasionally leans toward
 MODERATE - mild words & a few stronger expletives  (the text is really quite clean)
Sexuality:  MILD - descriptions of affection/desire   (lots of kissing)  some skimpy clothing and some wet clothing
OBVIOUS - there is a shower seen that is "interesting", it's an outdoor shower, so Whitney is fully dressed.  Quite a bit of snuggling and touching.  Also one accidental nude scene at the beginning - no descriptions - but to explain would be a plot spoiler, it involves a shared shower and accidentally walking in on the other person.
Other: The last several chapters are very intense – Indiana Jones adventure style, ESP and other skills

Sarah Holman - Destiny of a Few

Destiny of a Few
The Destiny Trilogy


By Sarah Holman


Available on Amazon

Product Description (from Amazon)

On her quest to find the crown prince, Maria Morris faces an abundance of obstacles. Now a marked Christian, it will be difficult and dangerous for her to travel. The USF follows her every move. (as the vibrating chip in her arm irritatingly reminds her.) Yet knowing all of this, Maria puts her trust in God and, with the help of a few new friends, refuses to give up her mission. She must find the crown prince. The Destiny Of A Few depends on it.

About the Author (from Amazon)

Sarah Holman, a homeschool graduate, lives in central Texas. When not pursuing her passion of writing, she can be found taking long walks, reading, sewing or spending time with her family. You can find out more about her at her blog, Destiny of One.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra

After reading the first book of the series, I despaired of ever getting to know what happened next. While the first had only been 99 cents, and I had been able to buy it with a gift card, I had other books on my list of want to buy that were higher priorities.

But I put them on my wishlist and to my surprise and delight, the author, with whom I had been chatting with back and forth, sent me the kindle versions of the next two books. Needless to say, I gobbled them down.

Book two begins right where book one left off. Maria is headed to Rio with her friend Quint, in search of the girl who owns the passport she had been mistakenly given in the first book. Amazingly, the girl, Winter, belongs to a Christian family, though she herself denied being one, to avoid being branded. And, it just so happens, she has connections to the planet where Maria wants to go  - the planet where the prince was said to be taken - which turns out to be the capitol planet.

So she and Winter take a visit to the girl's aunt, and Winter gets suspicious as she realizes that Maria didn't come here to sight see. She keeps trying to guilt out of Maria the real reason, and finally takes her out of town, where they get caught in a sandstorm and get lost. They get shot at by soldiers, Winter gets injured, and they're rescued by a farmboy, who takes them to his far, where we spend pretty much the rest of the book.

I really enjoyed the book, and the message is one that I don't see tackled very often in Christian works. Yes, it's easy to risk your own life for the greater good. But what happens when it's not your life you're endangering, but that of your friends, even a stranger? It was well handled.

For the most part, the book was fast paced, and moved smoothly. The cast of characters were brilliant, mostly new faces. I loved Winter, for her reluctance to give her beauty is one with which I myself can identify.

But once they reached the farmhouse, and Maria started suffering from the guilt of Winter's injury, the plot stalled. Yes, it was a necessary emotion for her to work through, but she was finally receiving answers to her riddle - and she wasn't even paying attention. Maria was supposed to have memorized the riddle - having read it multiple times every day - but she still didn't pick up on things, even when they appeared right under her nose.

Also, I was confused by why the planet the prince was hidden on what just so happened to be the capitol. In the first book, I had been under the impression that that it was an out of the way planet that was hard to get to. Maybe I just read wrong and it had been specified that it was the capitol, and I just didn't pick up on it, but I was really thrown for a loop when I realized that the prince had been hidden under the noses of those who want him dead. I mean, why? It just felt sloppy to me. And if they just "happened" to make it the capitol after he was there, that would have been too much of a coincidence.

But that aside, I really enjoyed the book, loved seeing Maria grow, and it didn't feel like a middle book. It could have been paced a bit better, but I still would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi adventure.

Genre/Theme: Sci-fi, Christian, Adventure

Reading Level:  TEEN - upper elementary to middle school 
Profanity:  NONE - no offensive language. One of the characters does bad language when in stressful situations, but we aren't told what, exactly, those words are.
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at 
Other: 
Quite a bit of fighting with guns. Some characters are injured. Christians are branded with a fish symbol on their cheeks.

Sarah Holman - The Destiny of One

The Destiny of One
The Destiny Trilogy


By Sarah Holmanh Holman


Kindle Edition Available

Product Description (from Amazon)

Destiny – it's a word that plagues Maria Morris. What does God want her to do with her life? Should she go to college or does God have other plans for her? When her parents go missing during a business trip, Maria embarks on a quest that will change her life forever. Trying to fight against an overbearing Milky Way Government, Maria travels to earth in search of a lost prince and some crown jewels. Her faith is tested, however, when a new law is passed. Will Maria be able to find her parents and the crown jewels before it's too late? Is she strong enough to stand up for her faith even if it means never seeing her family again? Most of all, will Maria discover her true Destiny?

About the Author (from Amazon)

Sarah Holman, a homeschool graduate, lives in central Texas. When not pursuing her passion of writing, she can be found taking long walks, reading, sewing or spending time with her family. You can find out more about her at her blog www.destinyofone.blogspot.com

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra

I stumbled upon this author from one of the other authors who she had interviewed on her Homeschooled Authors blog (Molly Evangeline, I believe), and her first book sounded good, and since it was only 99 cents, I bought it.

It took me a while to get into, unfortunately, but once I connected with Maria, figured out what was going on, I was hooked.

The Destiny of One takes place a few hundred years in the future. People have developed advanced space travel, and have figured out how to live on planets with hostile environments. (No aliens have been discovered, by the way.) The world has also gone back to monarchistic government, but the current king, Wyndemere II, is not friendly to Christians. In fact he is currently trying to pass a law that will force all Christians to be branded – much like the Jews were forced to wear stars during the Nazi period. (And manner in which Sarah told the back story was genius! Not info-dumpy at all!) A few decades before, earth had been ruled by an God-fearing king … but it had been attacked by Wydemere's predecessor, and the line lost.

Maria is a normal nineteen-year-old girl who lives on Mars. She's Christian, and currently at the crossroads of life and trying to figure out what God's plan for her life is. While visiting her grandparents (who live on earth), she and her grandmother are attacked by a ruffian at the park. Her grandfather then takes it upon himself to teach her and her brother some tricks in self defense with both laser gun and light saber – and she proves to be quite good.

And then it's back to Mars. While Maria continues to contemplate her future, they suddenly loose contact with her parents while they are away at their job. Her uncle then reveals to her that their family is the keeper of the hints to where earth's royal jewels – and true prince! – are hidden. And so she takes a quick rocket ship ride back to earth to find the jewels. Should be easy.

Even though sci-fi isn't usually my genre, I ended up really enjoying this book. The cast of characters were delightful, especially Quint! (I've heard tell that Quint is a universal favorite with the readers, though.) And the message was well done.

However, I do have two issues, both dealing with the plot.

One. The story is told using what I call the flashback hook, which is one of my literary pet peeves. The reason it took me so long to get into was that, there I was wondering if Maria's ID would go through the system and she would get to return to Mars and then – bam! – there I was on Mars at the true beginning of the book, with muddy clothing and colleges being the thing to worry about. It took me quite some time before I could convince myself to pick the book and reacquaint myself with the younger Maria.

Two. I never figured out why the crown jewels had to be found first. To me, the logical thing would have been to leave them where they are (if they haven't been found in this long, you can be pretty sure that they're going to be safe for quite some time more) and find the prince first. Crown jewels can be safely retrieved once there's a guy to wear them and a throne for him to sit on.

But apart from those two issues, I really enjoyed the book, and was quite eager to read the next two when I managed to get my hands on them. (Which I since have done, and I'll review them later.)

Genre/Theme: Christian, Sci-Fi

Reading Level: TEEN - upper elementary to middle school 
Profanity: NONE - no offensive language 
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at 

Other: Quite a bit of fighting, some physical, some with laser guns. Maria gets a broken arm. Later, she is branded on the palm of her hand.

Heather Leigh Johnson - - Life -

- Life -
Star Seed


By Heather Leigh Johnson


Kindle Edition Currently Unavailable




Product Description (from Amazon) 

I have tried to explain my book in so many ways, but none do it any justice. It's about a young girl named Helen and her eight friends. They're all gifted young adults who go through life fighting evil and defending the earth. This book explains each of their gifts and unique powers, book one Life is an introduction into their world.
Helen and her friends go through events and near death situations that test them to the max. They start to train and learn how to use their powers to their full potential, because they know that one day they will have to face not only their enemies, but each other as well…….

About the Author (from Amazon)

No Author Description available

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra

When this book showed up on my kindle (my mom has a habit of just sending me books that she thinks I might like) it was the cover art that initially made me want to read it. I had no idea what the book might be about – all I knew was that it was probably a CreateSpace publication, and, if so, that the author used the same template that I had used for my own book.

So, not seeing anything else that was interesting me at the present second, I pulled it up and started reading. The prologue was interesting enough – and didn’t give me any clue  as to what the book might be about, other than the fact that a major change had happened to the main character over the course of the book. Thinking back on the book … I’m still not sure what the prologue was doing in the book. It really wasn’t needed. Sure, it was intriguing, but the actual first chapter was pretty intriguing, too.

The book starts with Helen, the main character, and a small group of people being held up at the bank by a group of three masked men. They’re all scared, but the men claim that they don’t want their money, or to kill them – only to find something of great importance to them. One of them walks over to Helen and takes her hand … and she feels drawn into his beautiful green eyes …

Eventually, they are rescued. When Helen talks to her dad, who is in the law enforcement, later, she finds out that every report given by the group had been different … and that when they had played the security tapes, it had only been a group of people apparently scared of their own shadows – no masked men … and no Helen either. Did I mention that it was her birthday?

From there, things go chaotic and confusing. Helen seems to be living her birthday over and over again – with no real rhyme or reason – including one day she wakes up to find that she is dogsitting a dog that she hasn’t had to dogsit in two years!

During these crazy dreams, the green-eyed guy shows back up, as well as another good-looking guy to whom she is also drawn. Cue my eyes rolling. The second guy seems to be a good guy who is protecting her from the first for some reason she has no idea.

At long last, however, these dreams seem to come to an end and she gets shipped to her grandmother’s for her protection. She hasn’t seen her grandmother since she was a baby. Once at her grandmother’s it is revealed that her mother was some sort of alien, and that she, Helen, is a star seed. Oh, and that she also has the cool power of being able to travel places instantaneously – and even though time.

I don’t regret reading this book. It was very interesting, and the romance wasn’t too bad. However, it needs a good editor. Not for spelling or grammar ... but more to straighten things out. The book was told in first person present tense, which I found awkward. Present tense was fine for the prologue ... but the rest of the book would have been much better in past tense.

My big issue with this book is this: while most of the book was from Helen’s POV, there were two chapters from the POV of two other characters! While I have read some books that successfully switched POV in a first-person book, this book was not one of them. The first time it happened, it was told from Meadow’s POV. Meadow hadn’t even been mentioned until that point! It took me a long time to realize that the POV had switched, thinking instead that the book had merely jumped forward in time. True, the author had marked the chapter with Meadow’s name … but that still didn’t mean that I would catch on that the POV had changed. Then, as soon as the chapter was over, we were back to Helen’s POV and I was left thinking … “What…?” The second time it happened, the character had already been introduced, though he was the weakest character in the book, and I had already had experience with the sudden POV changes, so it wasn’t as bad. Still, this did not work well for this book.

However, the plot itself was pretty good, with no huge plot holes. It is the first book of a series, though it is the only book out. I found the book intriguing, and would probably continue the series if I get my hands on the upcoming books.

Genre/Theme: Sci-fi, fantasy, romance


Reading Level: TEEN - upper elementary to middle school
Profanity:  NONE - no offensive language to
LOW - few mildly offensive words. I don’t rememeber any, but there may have been one or two mild words.
Sexuality:  SUBTLE - hinted, but not explicit. Helen finds herself attracted to the two young men, and does some description of how hot they are, but they don’t do anything beyond protecting each other and some hugging.
Other:
Quite a bit of fighting in the second half of the book. Nothing gory happens, though.

Jacob Gowans - Psion Beta

Psion Beta 
Psion Series


By Jacob Gowans 


Kindle Edition Available




Product Description (from Amazon) 


Sammy, a 14-year-old fugitive, accidentally discovers he has the powers of a Psion.

Plucked off the streets, he is thrust into the rigorously-disciplined environment of Psion Beta headquarters. As a new Beta, Sammy must hone his newfound abilities using holographic fighting simulations, stealth training missions, and complex war games. His fellow trainees are other kids competing to prove their worth so they can graduate and contribute to the war effort.

But the stifling competition at headquarters isolates Sammy from his peers. Learning to use his incredible powers is difficult enough, but when things go horribly wrong on a routine training mission, he must rely on the other Betas to stay alive.

The Silent War is at a tipping point; even one boy can be the difference.

But to do so, he must survive.


About the Author (from Amazon)



About the Author
http://www.psionbeta.com/about-the-author.html
Biography
Jacob Gowans is a resident of Arizona, working as a dentist for the Indian Health Services. He is husband to a beautiful wife, Kat, and father to three children. When not working or writing, he enjoys watching sports, reading YA novels or the works of Stephen King, running, and chasing his kids around the house.

Psion Beta and Gamma are his first novels, and he is currently working on three projects: Psion Delta (Psion Series #3), Flight from Blithmore (The Storyteller's Tale Volume One), and an untitled story about clones. His favorite band is Angels and Airwaves. His favorite book is Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, and thinks the greatest film ever made is Dead Poets Society.

He was raised in Papillion, Nebraska, served a two-year mission in Baltimore, graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Arts in theater studies, and moved to Cleveland shortly thereafter for dental school at Case Western Reserve University.

He roots for BYU football and basketball, the New York Yankees,and Jimmer.



O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel


Psion Beta has a solid and compelling beginning.  Futuristic Sci-Fi is among my top 10 favorite genre’s, and right out of the shoot, you are sucked into the story.  After a while, the bickering and language started to get to me, but then there was a major turn in the story and the “plot thickened”.   You get to know the boy as “Brains” from the start.  Sammy is 14, and has been living in an abandoned grocery store with a small band of other boys for several months.  To wile away the time, they play war games – setting up teams and trying to take each other out.  Sammy is a bit of a show off, and fiercely independent.  It was his ingenuity that allowed him and his friends to escape the home for boys  where they lived, or more realistically, were held as a sort of prison for children who were troublemakers or unwanted, called “The Grinder”.

As the story progresses, you learn that Sammy wasn’t always a fugitive street brat.  Until quite recently, he had lived as an only child of two loving parents in a nice home.  Sammy’s story is a sub plot that slowly unfolds through the book, and helps make sense of Sammy’s attitude.

On this day, Sammy was winning the game, until one of his buddies caught him off guard and Sammy fell from the ceiling.  But as he fell, something strange happened, but no one seemed to believe him.  The event is lost with the arrival of pizza ... stolen pizza.  The boys were hungry, and the unguarded boxes had proved too much of a temptation ... of course this quickly leads to the police, or Shocks, finding their hide out.

Sammy is the main character, and he is one you just want to shake some sense into ... quite often.   He has a knack for getting onto the bad side of most people, but once he has decided to call you a friend, he is also deeply loyal.  He doesn’t trust easily, and he is super smart.  While trying to escape the Shocks, Sammy does something that is unexpected, and earns him the notice of a special group of people – the elite.

In the second chapter, Feet and Sammy hide out in a church, helped by an old man named Amos.  While they are sleeping, they are discovered, and in spite of Sammy’s best efforts, they are captured.  But Sammy is not returned to the Grinder as expected – instead he arrives at a special school for a handful of teens that have a genetic anomaly that give them “super powers”.  Sammy is given a chance to go back to school, it turns out to be somewhat of a military school.

Queue the gorgeous girl, unlikely side kick room mate, the father figure general in charge who has something to hide, and several hot heads of competition who hate being beat by a young upstart who doesn’t know how to be a team player ... and you pretty much have the bulk of the second part of the story.

There are many parts of this book that I really enjoyed, especially watching Sammy “grow up” and learn to love and trust again.  There are several characters that are reasonably well developed for being an action adventure book.  While the plot is the driving force, with enough surprises to keep the pages turning by themselves, especially in the beginning and ending thirds of the book.   This part of the book is slightly less about plot, and more about setting the stage and developing a working relationship between some of the characters.

On the other hand, there are many secrets revealed in this section.  Sammy’s background, and how he went from loving protected son to a wanted fugitive in a year.  Who are these special force group and what do they do?  The government is nothing like Sammy had been taught existed, and there are those who poses another genetic anomaly that turns them into something of a super zombie like fighter, they feel little to no pain, have nearly limitless reserves of power and strength, heightened senses, and incredibly fast reflexes.  They also hunt in a pack.   Everything that they are doing in the school and their war and fighting exercises, is to prepare them to fight these people.

Sammy excels, and during the third part of the book, he is invited on a special mission that is suppose to be in and out fast without even a tiny bit of danger ... and then things go very wrong, and instead, the kids are fighting for their lives.

While this is not my style of book, too much fighting and bloodshed and body parts, I found it very difficult to put down most of the time.  It isn’t a short book, at nearly 400 pages, but I found myself drawn in and loosing an hour or two without noticing on many occasions, and then I finished the book in a “stay up all night” stint after the 3rd day.   If not for the violence, I would have really enjoyed it.  I especially liked the way Sammy grew up during the story.

The end leaves the story dangling, so I did pull up the second book, Psion Gamma, to read the previews and reviews and was somewhat disappointed in the direction it seemed to take there.  A third book, Psion Delta, is currently being written.

There are some formatting issues for the Kindle, as well as a few odd sounding turn of words and editing issues.  For those who edit books while they read, this may be quite distracting.   Many of the reviews commented that it was a similar story to “Ender Games”, which I have not read.


Note:   Some parts of this are quite violent, lots of killing and exploding body parts, the language was rougher, more crass, and more suggestive than I liked, but the reading level is low enough that a 10 year old should be able to read it easily.  Even though there is a romance, there is a strict hands off policy that is enforced.  While I wouldn’t give this to my Jr. High child due to the crass language and gory violence, several of the reviewers commented that their elementary child enjoyed the book.

Genre/Theme:   Post Apocolyptic (2080’s), Sci-fi, Advanced Humans, Martial Arts/War Games, Genetic Alterations, Coming of Age

Reading Level:  Teen/ Mature TEEN – jr. high school to college
Profanity: MODERATE - mild words & a few stronger expletives   (Lots of milder words) to
HIGH - many instances of strong language   (Not as much stronger language, but lots of suggestive language and gestures as well)
Sexuality: MILD - descriptions of affection/desire   (Romance  between 2 characters at the school – hands off)
Other: This is a very war like setting, one type of human has a gene that makes them manic compulsive to enjoy killing, but also oblivious to pain.   The main character is not a real team player, and has a “chip on his shoulder”.  He has suffered much in his short 14 year life.    Somebody commits suicide.

Tom Upton - Just Plain Weird

Just Plain Weird


By Tom Upton



Kindle Edition Available 




Product Description (from Amazon)

Travis MacDuff has always led an uneventful life. His greatest concern was making the high school football, until an odd girl moves in next store, a girl whose secrets threaten not only his existence but the existence of everyone on the planet.

About the Author (from Amazon)

Tom Upton was born in Chicago. He attended Columbia College, where he studied writing and film.
     Upton has written Just Plain Weird, a young adult novel, Scarecrows, a very dark tale of horror, and Mourning Doves, a short story collection.
     His other interests including animal rights and senior and disabled rights.
     He is writing the Freaky Jules e-book series, a young adult paranormal series of novellas. Freaky Jules #1 (Vanished) and Freaky Jules#2 (Pants on Fire) have already been published. Freaky Jules#3 (Hellhounds) will be available shortly.
     He now lives in the rural Midwest, with his wife and two teenaged daughters.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra

I read this book because I wanted to know what the moon and earth had to do with the girl next door’s secret. It took me a while to get in to. I read a bit, then put it down to read something else … then picked it back up to read it some more …

Neither the romance nor sci-fi are my favorite genres, though I read both. Really, the only reason I read this was to find out what the girl’s secret was. When the secret was revealed, I only kept reading to see where it would take the story. There were many times I almost put the book down, and a few times that I actually did so and went and read another book for a while.

The bulk of the story takes place over less than a week, with several weeks squeezed into a few paragraphs between the third and fourth days, and an epilog that covers several months, so it’s a pretty action-packed story.

There were pretty much only six characters in this book: Travis, Eliza (the girl), his mom, Doc (her dad), Raffles (his genius best friend) and the space ship. There was also the president, but that was only over the radio. The book is told in first person from Travis’s point of view … understandable, since the author is a man. Eliza is the second-most important character, being the driving force of the romance portion of the book. She’s also the one who drives the car all over town and over the cliff…

Yeah … she’s a little … well, as the title puts it, just plain weird.

The other characters were mostly background characters and appeared only to move the plot.

The story begins with Travis spying on his new neighbors from his tree house. Thing is, he hasn’t seen anything going on over there since they moved in – no one going in or out, no lights in the windows – nothing. His friend Raffles discovers him spying and decides that Travis is … well, he decides that Travis needs to stop spying and just go over next door and introduce himself. They do so, and meet the dad, who invites them in. While inside, they meet Eliza, and the only intelligent thing Travis can say in the presence of pretty girl is: “She needs a tan.”

As they head back to Travis’s house, Raffles makes a startling announcement. The house was somehow bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. He thinks that it is because they weren’t actually in the house, but instead far away, and that Eliza and her father are aliens.

The next day, Eliza comes outside for the first time to do yard work – her dad took the tan comment seriously, you see. She complains to Travis, and he offers to help her. By the time they’re done, they feel as though they’ve known each other for a long time, and she offers him a ride in her dad’s Lexus. They’re both fifteen, by the way …

During this ride, she drives them off of a cliff and into a lake. Despite not knowing how to swim, Travis manages to get out, and rescue the unconscious Eliza. Next thing he knows, he’s at Eliza’s house again, and there is no sign of the injury he sustained in the fall.

After that, the secret of how their house is larger inside than outside is revealed, and it isn’t too far off from Raffles’ guess. Travis ends up being the pilot of an alien spaceship, and able to communicate with it telepathically.

Eliza’s mother, it revealed, is not dead. Instead, she is stuck in the future, due to an experiment that Eliza’s dad had done when the alien spaceship could travel temporally.

They make an effort to undo this … but end up completely altering the earth’s history … and killing all of earth’s inhabitants … and breaking the moon, which happens to be my favorite part of the book.

There were some editing issues … or, rather, quite a few. One of the amazon reviewers remarked that it looked like it was written in Notepad. I don’t think it was that bad, but it definitely needs some editing. The plot, however, was pretty much sound. The only thing that confused me there is that when Travis’s much older author brother is first mentioned, I got the impression that he had already published a book, but later, during the epilog, he publishes his first novel. It’s not important to the plot, however, and not a huge issue.

I could probably tear this book apart over the romance. It was pretty strong. However, since I had known it would be there before I started reading, it didn’t bother me as much as if it had taken me completely by surprise. There were times when it made me want to put the book down, but then it would return to the “Save the world from the disaster we caused” part of the plot, and I would be fine again. I did skim over the worst of it.

I did enjoy this book, for the most part, however. There were plenty of hilarious stuff … and the concept was quite intriguing. It’s not a book that I would read a second time, but I don’t consider the time I took reading the book as completely wasted either.


Note: While many of the reviews on Amazon say that this is fine for children as young as nine, I disagree. There are some pretty scary scenes, as well as some heated scenes that, though they weren’t very descriptive, still almost made me put the book down.

Genre/Theme: sci-fi, romance, time travel, space travel, paradox


Reading Level:  Mature TEEN - high school to college
Profanity: LOW - few mildly offensive words. I don’t remember if there were any for certain, but I think there were some lighter words.
Sexuality: MILD  to  OBVIOUS Travis and Eliza go physical fast – her driving it, as he’s actually holding back. They make love in the car. Later they take a shower together. Descriptions are not very in depth, though, mostly limited to the fact that it hurt.
Other:  There are some bug-like aliens (about seven feet long) that try to get Travis and Eliza. Travis manages to shoot it with a gun.

SM Reine - 19 Dragons

The 19 Dragons

By SM Reine 


Kindle Edition Currently Unavailable





Product Description (from Amazon) 


Publication Date: July 7, 2011
DEAD GODS. WAR. AND THE END OF THE WORLD.

There are nineteen provinces in the Land held aloft by nineteen pillars. Above the earth there is sky, and nobody knows what goes below except the Nineteen Dragons.

That is all you need to know, but that is not all there is to be known.

The Device has been stolen and the godlike Dragons have been rendered mortal. Someone is murdering them one by one, and each death brings the world closer to its end. Unless the the Device is somehow restored to its deceased owner, the Dragons are doomed to destruction-- and the human world will go with them.

THE 19 DRAGONS is a steampunk novella of approximately 80 pages. PLEASE NOTE: There are blank pages and unusual formatting as a method of storytelling. This is intentional.



About the Author (from Amazon)


SM Reine is an author of dark fantasy for teen and adult audiences. Her most widely known work is "Six Moon Summer," which has been hailed as "fresh and fast-paced" and "captivating." She lives in Nevada with her husband, the Helpful Baby, and too many black animals to count.

Hi everyone! My name is Sara, and I write urban fantasy and paranormal novels as SM Reine. I collect swords, cat hair, and typewriters (which I do use for writing!). It's a good day when those three things have nothing to do with each other. If you would like to know the instant my next book is available, you should enlist in my Army of Evil! I send out free books a couple times a year and we have a WICKED cool secret handshake, but you'll have to sign up to learn it. ;) Check it out -- http://eepurl.com/eWERY
.
A few fun facts about me:
- The #1 song on the day I was born was "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley, which means my life is a Rickroll.
- I have three black cats and one black dog, but it's not an obsession, I swear.
- I am a full time writer these days, which means I will never wear a pair of heels to the office again. Viva la sweatpants!



O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel


With the thousands of books that I have read in my lifetime, rarely does a book surprise me.  This is my first steampunk novel, and if more are as entertaining as this one, I think I’ve found a new genre to enjoy.  I’ve never read a book written in quite this style before, and as the storyline is highly plot dependent, it would not be fair to do a detailed plot for a review.  The plot development is part of the magic of the story – and that is what I found surprising.

I’ve always enjoyed dragon stories – although, I’m not a fan of turning the dragon into a human.  But with this book, it works.  Each of the dragons is tied to a providence.  Each chapter tells only the story of one dragon – although if a dragon has already been introduced, and crosses into the story, it is obvious.  If a dragon has not yet been introduced, then you will have no clue that the character that you are reading about is a dragon, and not all of the dragons are aware that they are indeed dragons either.  Sound complicated?  It is, and delightfully so!

This is definitely a story that is best read in a book with real paper and pages.  Because I kept finding myself flipping back and forth to cross check old details with new points of view.  At 80 pages, it took me far longer to read than I expected, simply because “flipping back” on a Kindle is rather difficult.

The book opens with the first dragon – an ancient fellow reading his newspaper and sharing pictures of his new great grandchild with anyone who will listen.  Suddenly a man in rags steals his cane – a cane that is of far more value than the worth of the jewels encrusted into it.  The man selling newspapers gives chase, and nearly catches the man, and fails.  With the death of the first dragon, one of the providences disappears from existence.   You will see this part of the story several more times as the dragons interact within the following chapters.  What is the purpose and the value of that cane?  Why is it so important?  What is happening to the providences?

The next dragon is introduced, and now you hear her background, and the story changes to her point of view.  The third chapter is from the 3rd dragon’s point of view, and so on.  Suddenly, dragons are being hunted and killed .. but by whom?  Who knows of the power of the cane other than the dragons?  As the mystery unfolds, it will keep you partly guessing, and anticipating what will happen next.

Each dragon is unique and has a different story to tell, from clock works, to youngsters playing in the mud, to grizzled card sharks to salty captains, and sweet loveable characters to evil deranged ones.   It takes several chapters before they start to twist together, but I found the effect to be magically amazing.

Some of the stories are slow and seem awkward.  Some are short, but not quite sweet.  Some seem very long and ramble along.  But by the end of the story, each unimportant detail has taken a new meaning in the grand scheme of things.


Note:   Easily enjoyable by most children who love thrilling “super hero” style books and movies.  Children 8 and up should enjoy the book – although there are some adult elements that parents may want to look at if they have a more sensitive child, or dislike strong language.  Some of the dragons use quite strong language.   I probably would not give this to any of my children until Jr. High.


Genre/Theme:   Steampunk, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Teen, Dragons, Future/Alternate world
Reading Level:  TEEN - upper elementary to middle school 
Profanity: MODERATE - mild words & a few stronger expletives  -  some of the dragons and characters are ruffian types, and their language is quite rough.  
Sexuality: SUBTLE - hinted, but not explicit – at least one of the dragons is dressed as a “madam”, she loves to gamble and drink.
Other: There is a lot of violence, and many violent deaths.  As each dragon dies – a whole section of the world dies with it. 

Yvonne Anderson - Words in the Wind

Words in the Wind
Gateway to Gannah


By Yvonne Anderson 


Kindle Version Available




Product Description (from Amazon)

Dassa is back on Gannah, but things aren’t going the way she’d planned.

A shuttle crash leaves her marooned 10,000 kilometers from the settlement just as a blizzard sets in. Injured, she takes refuge in Ruwach Gorge. Seeking food and shelter, she stumbles across the ruins of a place she’d always thought was a myth. What she finds there casts doubt on some of her fundamental beliefs.

Her husband, Pik, reluctantly takes charge of the settlement in her absence and organizes a search for her. Rebellious settlers and a wayward daughter make things difficult enough. But when the planet’s animals threaten to break the ancient treaty and resume the old Wildlife Wars, Pik’s hard-pressed to hold things together. If he can manage to find Dassa, will she have a home to come back to?

Alone in the mysterious canyon where reality and fairytale are flipped, Dassa wonders the same thing.

About the Author (from Amazon)

Anderson writes fiction that takes you out of this world. Words in the Wind is the second in her Gateway to Gannah series.

Visit her Website

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel


Warning .. don’t pick up this book unless you have time to be transported to another time and place for several hours.  At nearly 300 pages, it took me around 8 – 10 hours to read.
Pik and Dassa are again the main two characters, but where The Story in the Stars (first book) jumped from location to location, and shifted sub characters several times, this book has two primary locations and only one set of characters. Many of them were in the first book, and it was delightful to get to know them better.

Whereas the first book’s theme was love and forgiveness and the Gospel, this story is about maintaining our Walk with God and obedience and discipline.  There are many spots that will make you squirm in your seat, particularly if you find that character’s words and thoughts too much like your own.  Another splendid novel by Yvonne Anderson, and I feel sure she would say to give the glory to God.

Words in the Wind is not a soft read; it will grab you and work you over a bit.  It will stretch your comfort zone, and pull your comfy chair right out from under you.  I laughed.  I cried.  My heart ached and rejoiced.  I don’t often enjoy emotional books – but this one had a subtle lesson as it took you through the journey and was far beyond the typical “tear-jerker”.

While ‘Stars’ had an underlying “Star Trek” feel to the universe, because the entire story takes place on Gannah, there is very little of that feeling in this book.  Gannah was a familiar location from the first book, and so it felt homey and unique all at the same time.  The plot here is vastly different from ‘Stars.’  The book flips back and forth between Pik’s story and Dassa’s story.

Basic Plot

A decade or more has passed.

Dassa has just finished translating an ancient log book for the Karkar.  She has spent several weeks on a space ship, piloted by the captain of the rescue ship in the first book, Dr. Broward.  In spite of less than clear skies and her better judgment, she opts to return to the surface of the planet, she is so anxious to see her two children and husband Pik again.  But as the shuttle descends, Yasha talks with Dassa about her attitude of aloofness and hiding from him.  Suddenly, things go very wrong ... and the shuttle crashes.

Dassa survives the crash, only to find herself in the most edge of a gorge at the northern edge of the land.  A blizzard is beginning, and temperatures are dropping fast.  She needs to find shelter fast – and in spite of her injuries, including damaging her meah, she escapes the burning shuttle, kills a lion, takes his skin, and manages to escape down the edge of the gorge against all odds of her surviving.  She knows help will arrive ... eventually.  But she also knows that winter has begun, and the storm above could rage unchecked for weeks.  In the meantime, she needs to find food and shelter, warm clothes, and better shoes.  This is one part of her world that she knows very little about.

After many days of travel, which take several chapters due to the extreme danger, she arrives at a statue – and realizes that the mythical cities of the stories of her people are not myths at all.  What she finds inside shakes her to her very core and upends everything she thought she knew about her beloved Gannah’s history.

But she is determined to return home.  She estimates it will take her a year, maybe two, but she will cross all of Gannah with nothing more than her survival skills, her faith in Yasha, and the ghosts that haunt her memories.

Meanwhile ...

Pik has suddenly found himself the Gannah ruler of over 1000 Earthers.  None of them truly understand Gannah yet, and they feel the loss of Dassa as a young child would feel to be suddenly ripped from loving parents.  Dassa’s two children especially feel this loss, as they are separated from their mother’s meah as well – something they have never been without, no matter how far away she has been.  Eventually, the young daughter’s fears and anguish cause her to make an unwise choice and she is badly injured.

Meanwhile, one of the council members uses Dassa’s disappearance to advance his own agenda.  He wants to lead a group to start a second settlement, and he will stop at nothing to get his way.  Pik does his best to treat him fairly and keep the matter private.

The animals come to talk to them – only Adam had a meah to talk to them – and they try to trick the humans into breaking their agreement – and then report that one of them has seen Dassa, but was unable to communicate with her.

The first rescue attempt was called short, but they see signs that Dassa is alive.  But with so many things going wrong at the settlement, and the bad weather of winter, will she be able to continue to survive?  Can the settlement survive without her?

........

Whether you are “into sci-fi” or not, this book is compelling on so many human levels as well.  It will challenge you to re-evaluate where you stand in your faith, and compel you to a more faithful level of obedience.  At least, I found that true for myself.

Now that I’ve finished reading, I find myself mulling over things.  And definitely, I am looking forward to the next book.   The book comes to an end at a good place, but it leaves several problems unsolved and unaddressed, minor issues to be sure, but a vital part of the sub plot.

Thank you so much to Yvonne for inviting us into her world of Gannah.

I handed the books to my sci-fi loving 14 year old daughter, and she is devouring them as well, and has declared them “too good to let me sleep until I know how it ends!”


O.Scarlett! review by V. Kathie

This book did not captivate me as much as the first, but I still enjoyed it. Mom says it is probably because I am not a mother and I never had to deal with the problem of “what would happen to my family if I was separated from them for a large amount of time.” Although that broken arm of hers gave my imagination a work out as I tried to picture the book as it happened. I kept having her reach for things with her right hand but realized that was the one that was broken so I had to switch my mental picture to having her reach with her left hand.
I was able to put this one down a whole lot easier than the last one. But I still had trouble. I enjoyed the lesson and it got me thinking. (I love a book that makes me think, probably why I enjoy listening to Unshackled so much.) If you are the type of person who has a ‘camera’ running in your head while you are reading something you probably will have a bit more trouble reading it than if you are not. I had to walk away from it every thirty minutes to let my ‘camera’ cool off although I do enjoy a good mind stretcher that works with my brain to see things in different lights. I give this book a five star rating and will definitely be reading it over and over and over again.



Note:  Depending on a child’s ability to handle violence, this book could be enjoyed by most Jr. High students, and some in upper elementary.  Violence is not the theme of the book, but is “extreme” (not graphic) on the occasions that it occurs.   Theme is learning obedience and reliance on God through the things that you suffer.


Genre/Theme:  Science Fiction, Survival/Adventure, Christian,
Reading Level:  TEEN - high school to college  (ages 10 and up)
Profanity:  Mild
Sexuality: Very SUBTLE - hinted, but not explicit  -  people marry, have babies, and the Captain flirts
Other: Dassa crashes on the northern most extreme edge of her world (only one land mass) just as winter begins.  Describes crash and the extremes she goes to in order to survive.  At the settlement,  one child is badly injured.  A few descriptions of the violence of the animals of the planet.

Yvonne Anderson - Story in the Stars

Story in the Stars
Gateway to Gannah


By Yvonne Anderson



Kindle Edition Available 



Product Description (from Amazon) 

The inhabitants of the planet Gannah are known as bloodthirsty savages who once tried to conquer the galaxy. Now a plague has ravaged the planet and only one survivor remains, a young woman named Dassa. Pik, the doctor from the League of Planets assigned to her case, hates everything Gannahan and wishes every last one of its people had died. Bereft of everything she's ever known, Dassa clings to her God and the story he has written in the stars. He has given her an assignment: to return to Gannah and replenish it with a new race of people. But she must first overcome the prejudice of the entire galaxy and recruit her de facto enemy, Pik, to help her

About the Author (from Amazon)

Anderson writes fiction that takes you out of this world. Story in the Stars is the first in her Gateway to Gannah series.

Visit her Website



O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel


When we were contacted by the author to review her book, I jumped at the chance.  Christian Science Fiction is very rare, and even rarer is Christian Sci-Fi that is well done.
The comments on Amazon were encouraging, so I volunteered.  I certainly am glad that I did!

“Story in the Stars” gets off to a slow start; at least it did for me.   It took a while to get to know Dassa, and I never could quite get my initial image of Pik being human looking out of my head, probably from watching too much Star Trek.  This book did have the world feel of Star Trek – the technology was more primitive, the people groups were all different.  It had a taste of Federation.. but called it the League of Planets.

In the first part of the book, the action is occasionally somewhat jerky, Yvonne would make a short comment about changing location (from one ship to another for instance), and then back peddle the story or make some explanation, then slide back to the location without additional warning ... this left me flipping backwards in the story a few times to find the missing details.  They were always there, I just missed them.

Also, some of the conversations were somewhat flat, especially if the conversations drew out long and without any action – such as the investigation “courtroom” scenes.

But then Yvonne found her groove, and the story just really took off.  I finally figured out where the Christian part of the story was, and began to get a feel for her point of view there.  Bible stories wove in and out with delightful effect.   And, it was a stroke of genius that the most war-like race of people were the bringers of the Good News.  From a gospel standpoint, the story was amazing, and I didn’t feel like the Bible was endlessly quoted in order to add word count – it was part of the story – the story itself breathed the Gospel.  In fact, the book contained very little fluff filler.  Almost every part of every page either furthered the story or helped the reader understand their characters better.  Shaky start – but a solid finish.



Basic Plot (not in the order of the book’s telling)

Gannahan people are a peaceful race, but are attacked.  They defend themselves, since they live on a harsh planet, become “blood thirsty” and begin attacking and destroying other civilizations.  As they conquer, their King begins to notice that every planet has a Story in their Stars.  It leads him to Earth, where he makes a heart changing discovery.  Eager to share with his people and others, he returns home to find that the Karkar have created a plague that has wiped out the Nasi left to guard their planet, and the ships autopilot course has brought the ships home.  He has the ships sunk to avoid spreading the virus.

Years later, nearly a millennium,  the plague wipes out the entire planet – Dassa was on her final mission to become a Nasi, and arrives at the palace already full of extensive death, a call was made for help, by the time help arrives as the Karkar, Dr. Pik, with the antidote, Dassa is the only living soul left.  Only her husband is still alive, somewhere off planet.  But she never sees him again.  Dassa is the last Gannahan left – and apparently the only soul in the entire galaxy left willing to keep and believe the gospel.

Dassa goes to earth to become a teacher ... and years pass.

She feels Yeshua calling her back to her planet ... and she is to bring Dr. Pik with her.  Theirs is a strange relationship.  He is not full Karkar – and the only one of his race of mixed blood.  Yet, he feels strangely compelled and attracted to this female – the lone survivor of her race – a race that his planet has hated and wished dead for nearly a millennium.   How does he allow her to tug at his feelings like she does so often?   She is strange, amazing, and frightening, she knows nothing of correct society – he cannot understand her at all.  Hate and fascination and compassion war within him.  All she asks of him is his forgiveness – and his race never forgives anyone, ever.

Together, they travel across the galaxy in a tiny ship.  But what will they find when they reach Gannah?  Will they reach an understanding?  Can Dassa learn to love Pik with God’s forgiveness and love?  Can Pik learn to forgive and accept the truth of the Story in the Stars?

---

I finished the story at 2:30am, having been compelled to keep reading page after page as the slow and steady mystery of what had happened and why it had happened began to piece together.  My heart was impressed with the impact of the story – years ago, like Yvonne, I had been impressed by the Story in the Heavens.  I wanted to write a story, and had a few rough ideas, but no idea how to proceed.  There aren’t many Christian Science Fiction books, and most are so poorly written and overpriced, that they are not worth reading, so I was at a loss for the time and inspiration to follow through.  But here I found the things I had wanted to say and write – no, not the exact same story – but the heart and soul of the book – it echoed my thoughts and feelings.  I finished this book with a gigantic grin on my face.   How inspiring!

What a story of love, and forgiveness, of sacrifice and redemption, and grace and obedience. What a beautiful picture of God’s story this book painted.  I was most pleased by the author’s closing comments.  It has been a great struggle today, to not go ahead and pick up the second book.

This book and the world of Gannah, does perhaps have a chance to become very popular among our youth and young adults of today’s churches.   This is one of the best written Christian Fiction books that I have read in many years.  Not to say that I’ve read very many lately, but very few were able to pull off a story that glorifies God while still compelling the reader to continue to turn pages, preaching through the actions and not sermons or pages of scripture.  There is too much God in the story to please many secular readers, but even this attitude, shutting God away and trying to dispose of Him, is addressed.  Still, the story is quite compelling enough to draw in a curious reader, and many will very much enjoy the book in spite of the Godly message.  This book is very much on par with the average published secular science fiction.  I very much enjoyed the world of Gannah!

O.Scarlett! guest REVIEW by V. Kathie (age 14)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I started reading it to find out why my mom was enjoying it so much. I was enthralled, it had a rather rocky beginning that did not totally make sense but after I got to about the third chapter I was hooked. In my opinion this is twice as good as Star Trek. Same feel but different. When I met Pik the first thought that came to mind was “Oh look, she took Spock’s mannerisms and Dr. McCoy’s career and stuck them together in one character.” I am a huge Star Trek fan, the only thing I have against Star Trek it is its evolution. And this book practically eliminated it. Yes the Captain, and Pik brought evolution up but it never was presented as truth. For me this book had the perfect amount of gore, romance, creation, science, medicine, and spaceships to keep me happy throughout the book. I believe if this book was ever discovered in Christen circles it will become a best seller. I could not put it down till I was done with the entire thing.
I especially enjoyed the fact that she taught Hebrew in the course of the book.



Note:  Depending on a child’s ability to handle violence, this book could be enjoyed by most Jr. High students, and a few in upper elementary.  Violence is not the theme of the book, but is “extreme” (not graphic) on the rare occasions that it occurs.

Genre/Theme:  Science Fiction, Romance, Christian, Survival
Reading Level:  Mature TEEN - high school to college  (ages 12 and up)
Profanity:  MODERATE - mild words & a few stronger expletives  -  most of the words were “modernized” but were  spoken by rough characters and pirates during the travels.
Sexuality:  SUBTLE - hinted, but not explicit  -  Extremely rare, one mention of porn early on viewed on the doctors computer ... this was not the theme of the book, and it was a very modest and good taste when it occurred ... with the exception of the pirates threats – what they would do with Dassa and the other women.
Other: Dassa comes from an extremely violent race – due to the extreme danger of her home planet.  There are descriptions of death and dying from disease. Dassa kills two pirates with her bare hands, removing a windpipe of one and later destroys a dozen dog like creatures.  Descriptions are brief and not overly graphic, but they are rather horrific.   The book also includes descriptions of Dassa’s people conquering the galaxy while being “blood drunk”.