OUT OF BREATH

Name: OUT OF BREATH
Author: Blair Richmond
ISBN: 978-0-9796475-7-4

by Blair Richmond ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31, 2011

Ringing changes on readers’ expectations, the pseudonymous author delivers plot twists with minimalist (for the genre)...

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Set in Lithia, a southern Oregon theater town (Ashland, thinly disguised), this series opener blends genre tradition with West Coast environmentalism.

Yes, it’s another paranormal romance—a human/vampire love triangle in a small town where not all the people are people—with a heroine who, though feistier than most, belongs to the Bella sisterhood. And yet—well-worn plot notwithstanding—the result feels fresh and original. Kat, homeless and on the run (from what, readers learn later), returns to Lithia, where her mother died years earlier, and is offered a job and housing by friendly locals. Running is Kat’s passion and coping mechanism; soon she’s running with her landlady, Stacey. Also taking an interest in Kat are Roman, the handsome actor playing Hamlet (a role that suits him), and attractive Alex, who works at the food co-op and, like Kat, is devoutly vegan. All is not well in Lithia, where runners occasionally turn up dead. When it’s Stacey, Kat feels responsible; they’d been separated on a run together.

Ringing changes on readers’ expectations, the pseudonymous author delivers plot twists with minimalist (for the genre) panache, producing a green parable infused with a rich sense of place: an organically grown confection. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-9796475-7-4

Page Count: 268

Publisher: Ashland Creek Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LAST MILE
by Blair Richmond

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GHOST RUNNER
by Blair Richmond

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BETWEEN SISTERS

by Adwoa Badoe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2010

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Ghanaian teenager Gloria Bampo has hit a rough patch. She failed most of her school exams, her long-unemployed father has lost himself to religion and her mother is ravaged by a mysterious sickness. Her one consolation, her older sister Effie, has discovered boys and all but disappeared. Gloria is offered a job in a distant city with Christine, a doctor who needs househelp. Her father is quick to assent, with one condition: In lieu of payment, Christine must take responsibility for Gloria's future and adopt her as a sister. Gloria adjusts easily, studies hard and explores her newfound freedom. But when the temptations of her new life—brand-name clothes and handsome doctors—prove hard to resist, a misunderstanding cuts a rift between Gloria and Christine. Each must confront class stereotypes and re-examine the meaning of family. Badoe's sharp and engaging prose unfolds the story with spryness, deftly navigating readers through heady social issues. But she wastes readers' goodwill at the end with a conclusion both haphazard and overly moralistic, jarringly out of place in this otherwise thoughtful and well-excuted novel. (Ghanaian glossary) (Fiction. YA)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-88899-996-2

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Groundwood

Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
ALUTA
by Adwoa Badoe

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POT OF WISDOM
by Adwoa Badoe & illustrated by Baba Wagué Diakité

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WHEN I WAS JOE

by Keren David ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2010

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When 14-year-old Ty witnesses a brutal murder involving neighborhood thugs, he and his mom are put into a witness-protection program in a small town far away from their East London home. Now named Joe, Ty enters a new school a year behind and finds himself haunted by his past and torn between two girls: Ellie, a physically disabled teen who trains able-bodied runners, and her sister, Ashley. Despite lots of Briticisms and the occasional longwinded spells of narration, David pens a mostly fast-moving page-turner. Her characterizations feel mostly fully fleshed, and their dialogue rings true. The staunchly un-Americanized text results in some odd, culturally specific references that could confuse some readers unfamiliar with the milieu: Kissing Ashley makes Ty's body sizzle like sausages in a pan, for instance. The contemplative pages within the blood-spattered cover may disappoint readers more drawn to gore than to the self-reflection the experience renders in Ty. However, if teens can move past these speed bumps, they’ll find a complex, engaging read about a boy starting a new life by escaping his past. (Thriller. 12 & up)