Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities #3) by Shannon Messenger

I really love this series. It's creative and engaging and I never know what's going to happen next. The series was written for 8-12 year olds, but I'm not sure all 8-12 year olds would appreciate how well the "lost cities" and the people who live there are described. I actually looked up the age range for the Harry Potter series and it's almost the same (9-12). I have said this before (in my review of the first book) but this series reminds me of HP in so many ways. And I love the HP series!

In this installment, Sophie spends a lot of time with Keefe. Keefe and Sandor (Sophie's goblin bodyguard) accompany Sophie on most of her quests for the truth. Not everyone can be trusted and not everyone is who they seem to be. Sophie suspects that Jolie (Grady & Edaline's daughter who had died 16 years previously) was connected to the Black Swan, but she doesn't know how. She tries everything she can think of to discover Jolie's secrets, but Jolie certainly didn't leave many clues for Sophie to follow. At one point Sophie and the Black Swan suspect there is a leak within the Black Swan, and because of this, they stop communicating with each other, which makes things more difficult.

Sophie's friends start manifesting their own special abilities. Biana is a Vanisher and Dex is a Technopath (which is great because he comes from Talentless parents, so he could have easily been Talentless himself. His family is pretty much treated like "second-class citizens".) By the end of this book, Sophie, Keefe, Fitz, Biana and Dex are a solid group. Their abilities compliment each others and that helps them build a solid team for fighting against evil. Although Keefe travels a lot with Sophie, Fitz is the one who helps Sophie when she tries to heal Fintan, the evil Pyrokinetic. Since Sophie and Fitz can speak telepathically, they learn to trust each other implicitly.

Everyone is still trying to figure out who the Pyrokinetic is that killed Jolie. Fortunately, Sophie finally figures it out at the end of the book. This book introduces a lot of questions about what is really happening in the lost cities and who is behind it all. The Councillors turn against the Black Swan. Sophie makes a serious mistake which results in severe consequences. The elven "capitol" is destroyed. A beloved Councillor is killed, and has to be replaced immediately (so there are the required 12). The school gets a new Principal. Lots and lots of changes. We get a few answers too, which is always nice.

As this fabulous story unfolds, the books get longer and the details more complex. I have already started book #4. Keep them coming!

Wendy's Rating: *****

Pretty Reckless by LJ Shen

This is apparently the first book of three in the All Saints High series. The main characters are Daria (the wealthy, spoiled, popular, neglected girl) and Penn (the poor, neglected, talented athlete boy). They both come from dysfunctional families and they both have anger issues. They hate each other. They love each other. They live in the same house, even though they go to rival schools (rich vs. poor). 

This is simply not my kind of book. I read a lot of youth fiction and young adult fiction. I certainly don't mind reading about dysfunctional families or troubled teens or teenage love from two sides of the track (like Grease or West Side Story!), but this was too over the top for me. Daria is downright mean and vindictive with no endearing qualities. Yes, she is lonely and doesn't feel loved by her mother, but that doesn't excuse her behavior. And her "relationship" with the school principal? ICK. Seriously. What is that about. Super creepy and he should be arrested. I liked Penn better, but not enough to redeem this story for me.

I don't mind sex scenes in books, but I guess I'm not a fan of reading graphic sexual experiences between two kids still in High School. I know I sound like an old prude, and maybe I am, but it was just all too much: the "hate", the awful things people did to each other, the jealousy, the over-the-top threats by Daria's father toward Penn, the language, the sex. If this is really what High School is like these days, then I was raised in an extremely sheltered household. I didn't even experience these type things in college after I was on my own.

I won't be finishing the series, needless to say. ;)

Wendy's Rating: **1/2