Young Adult

Watching July: A Young Adult Novel
$12.95
Writing a successful Young Adult novel is deceptively difficult. To get inside the head of a teenager while retaining a dispassionate adult perspective requires not only a good memory but a consummate skill with words. In her debut novel, Christine Hart has done a crackerjack job, starting with the enigmatic title.

Sixteen-year-old July carries a few grudges about life. Her mother died under unusual circumstances, leaving unanswered questions. Her older sister is far away in university. Her stepmother (make way for a same-sex family in more ways than one) is under financial pressure at a new job. Worse yet, July has had to exchange her stable home in urban Vancouver for the wilds of the BC interior. No wonder there is tension between the women, and they snap at each other in spite of their affection.

In addition to having to make new friends and change schools, a young person's anathema, it's the isolation itself. Perhaps a primeval paradise for vacationers, Salmon Arm is a microcosm of a dangerous world. From the start, July has bad feelings about her surroundings. At least on the mean streets, she knew what to expect and how to arm herself. Why does she sense that someone is stalking her?

Suddenly, as chance will have it, she meets a personable young man. He's hot, smitten with her, and he has a car. In that teenage hormonal way, she's on top of the world. But the rest of the school isn't that friendly to newcomers. Her efforts at winning a scholarship are doused with cold water. And is the boyfriend a wee bit too possessive? How easily the young and inexperienced can rationalize. But who is sending her cryptic notes? Only her diary is witness. In her quest for independence and self-reliance, July is more alone than ever.

Hart uses the shadowy and dense woods of the British Columbia interior both as a place of wonder and danger. Deep blue lakes reflect serenity and beauty, but evil can hide in the tangled undergrowth. Perhaps there aren't many places to drive, but it only takes one wild party in an isolated clear-cut to make the heart beat faster. And always, as night closes in, being only a few hundred yards from home is no salvation. "She noticed she had slowed again, unable to focus on anything in the abyss of darkness ahead. Something cracked behind her. A twig snapped. She froze, straining to see or hear." Why does no one answer her calls? Are her fears irrational, or is she losing it?

July is a very realistic teenager, from her growing voice of confidence to the naivete she shows in wanting to believe the best in people. She has her moments of temper, but underneath her customary angst is a sweet and vulnerable girl. As the plot picks up speed towards a terrifying ending, pages turn quickly. Will July's worst nightmares come true? Or do they foretell a truth which will free her once and for all?

Painting Caitlyn
$9.95
Remember your first serious relationship? The breathless excitement, nervousness, and giddiness that comes when you realize that he likes you? Caitlyn can't believe how lucky she is.

She first meets Tyler at an amusement park, in the splash pool. The attraction is immediate and mutual, and the timing couldn't be better. Her best friend, Ashley, is totally engrossed in Brandon, her boyfriend of eight months. And at home, she feels less than invisible. The latest insult is moving to the basement so her room can be turned into a nursery. Her mother and stepfather are finally going to have their perfect baby, a baby they've been trying for for years. It seems they've forgotten that Caitlyn even exists.

At first, Caitlyn convinces herself that she's not changing. She's doing what every other girl does who wants to be with her boyfriend. If she really loves him, she should try to please him, right? She ignores the inner voices that wonder why she's not talking to Ashley about her relationship with Tyler. She lets Tyler talk her into doing things that she would never have considered before. When she realizes that she can't paint a smiling self-portrait she begins to look beyond the euphoria of new love and finds support and forgiveness from her family and friends.

Teen feelings of being alive and loved, truly loved, for the first time, mixed with the uncertainty, stubbornness, and incredibly strong desire to please, are vividly portrayed in this debut novel. Ms. Peters does a beautiful job of immersing the reader in the heady feeling of young love. PAINTING CAITLYN was a very enjoyable read.

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

Sixteen: Short Stories by Outstanding Writers for Young Adults
$6.99
WE got a better deal, better product, more quickly than expected. will order from here again!

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale
$8.99
Enter the world of modern faery. They are dark, tough, and full of mystery. This story takes faery lore and makes it alive in the modern world. Excellent book!