A Review by Emily

Unearthly
by Cynthia Hand
Young adult fantasy
Pub date January 2011
Review by Emily Dmytryk

Clara has a pretty easy life. Everything she does comes easily to her...because she's an angel. Life as an angel isn't as fun as it sounds. Every angel has a purpose which they must complete. Once Clara receives hers, she and her family are forced to move away from California to Idaho, forever altering their lives. at her new school, she meets the boy she knows she has to save, and also another boy she wishes she could save. The characters in this book are wonderful. The evil ones very evil, and all the others very likable and real. It is written very well, and overall very exciting. After reading this book, you will not be able to wait for the sequel.

Review of Chime

*no cover art available*

Chime
by Franny Billingsley
Young Adult Fantasy
Pub date March 2011

I absolutely loved this book. In fact, several times I caught myself reading the same passage (or page) over and over because I liked the way it sounded. Billingsley has such a way with words, both real and made-up. This is a novel that reads like one long song with lots of strings and minor chords.

Briony and her twin sister are seventeen-year-old girls living in early 20th-century Swampsea. Briony has two secrets that she must never forget: one, she is a witch. And two, she hates herself. Remembering these two things will help keep her family safe, because when she forgets, bad things happen. She believes that she is responsible for the unusual amount of tragedy that has befallen her small family, and she will do anything to make sure they are safe. However, when her father takes on a new (young, vibrant, and male) tenant, it becomes harder for Briony to accept her fate.

If this story had been written by another writer, it could have been trite and overwrought. Billingsley makes it creepy yet romantic, sad yet funny, small-town yet epic. This is the best book I've read in a long time.

Review of The Poison Tree

*note: this cover is from the British edition. I couldn't find an image of the American cover, which is red with a black tree.

The Poison Tree
by Erin Kelly
Adult Mystery
Pub date January 6, 2011

I won't lie, I read this book mainly because it was compared to Tana French's mysteries. It has a similar carefully built suspense but the similarity ends there.

The Poison Tree jumps back and forth between Karen's present, in which she has just picked up her boyfriend from a ten-year stint in prison, and the past, when she first met him and his sister Biba. Karen was a straight-laced, somewhat uptight college graduate who let her hair down for one glorious summer. However, the sum ...more I won't lie, I read this book mainly because it was compared to Tana French's mysteries. It has a similar carefully built suspense but the similarity ends there.

The Poison Tree jumps back and forth between Karen's present, in which she has just picked up her boyfriend from a ten-year stint in prison, and the past, when she first met him and his sister Biba. Karen was a straight-laced, somewhat uptight college graduate who let her hair down for one glorious summer. However, the summer ended with a murder, and it isn't until the novel's climax that we find out what really happened.

Erin Kelly is a beautiful writer, and her greatest strength is evoking the little sensory details that bring a scene alive. Reading The Poison Tree made me want to visit London and see it through Karen's eyes.