Silent Pretty Things by O.J. Lovaz

Title: Silent Pretty Things

Author: O.J. Lovaz

Format: epub.

Expected publication date: August 17, 2021

Pages: 222

Goodreads

Introduction (Goodreads Synopsis)

A small town…a prominent family…a secret. Only two people know the truth, and their silence will have murderous consequences.

Anna Goddard has spent a lifetime being the Good Daughter. Polished and primped into sleek, blond perfection, Anna learned from an early age that being a Goddard meant presenting a flawless façade to the world. But all that changes when Anna stumbles upon a private correspondence that leaves her reeling. With the help of Michael Donovan, a shy but charming local historian, Anna embarks on a journey to find the one thing her family has always denied: The Truth.

Propelled by her mission to protect those she loves, the young woman experiences a tantalizing taste of freedom. But in the process of unearthing the past, Anna and her family will expose a new threat so dangerous it could ruin them all.

Plot

Plot-wise, this book did not hold my attention. The secrets and drama that were seemingly promised in the synopsis fell short to me. I don't want to include spoilers but the twists were predictable to me, so the suspense aspect of the novel didn't hold up for me.

Writing Style

The writing felt very formal, especially during dialogue. An example of this is during this exchange between Anna and Michael:

"But, Mr. Donovan, I haven't even told you my age."

"And I'm not going to ask, but you look young."

"That's kind of you, and so very gracious, but I'm not too young"

"That's kind of you, and so very gracious." Is just...not how real people talk. The book is full of passages like this and it made so many scenes feel very stiff.

Romance

The romance between Anna and Michael was a bigger part of the story than I thought it would be, and that wouldn't bother me if it wasn't insta-love. Right after their first meeting, they already seemed weirdly attached to each other. At only 7% through the book, Anna has this thought about Michael:

"He was clean-shaven with his hair brushed back, but a few strands were already beginning to defy orders, falling over his temples. She imagined him under a full moon with the wind blowing his hair and felt tempted to get her hands in there and mess it up."

This was right after their second meeting, and only 17 pages into the book. I really wanted to like them together, since their relationship turned out to take up a lot more of the story than I expected, but I just couldn't. Their relationship progressed too quickly and because they never built any foundation for romantic feelings, I didn't feel any connection to their romance.

Conclusion

Overall this book was not for me. I was so drawn to the book from the synopsis, but I don't feel like what was alluded to was actually delivered.

Meet Me At The Summit by Mandi Lynn

Title:  Meet me at the Summit

Author: Mandi Lynn

Expected publication date: August 31, 2021

Publisher: Stone Ridge Books 

Pages: 275

Introduction

Marly Price lost her parents in a car accident 9 months ago, and since then, she's just been going through the motions. She's getting through it, but every day feels the same as the last. When she's presented with the opportunity to travel across the US in a renovated VW bus, she knows she should do it. The old her, the person she was before her parents died, would have jumped at the opportunity. To travel again, to enjoy hiking again, to enjoy photography again. Those are all things Marly wants. But after everything that's happened, will Marly be able to find passion in the things that she used to love again?

Pacing

The pacing starts off very slow as Marly is being convinced by her family to take the bus on the road trip, but as it starts to take off, it quickly becomes very repetitive. The order of events for nearly the entire book is driving --> hiking --> Marly having a panic attack on the top of a mountain-->  Marly taking photos --> Marly struggling to sleep --> repeat. Dylan, the romantic interest quickly finds his place in the cycle when he starts to calm Marly's panic attacks, but that quickly grows repetitive in nature as well. Because of this cycle, I found myself having to take a lot of breaks from reading to avoid getting bored with the story.

Romance 

I was disappointed in Marly and Dylan's romance. They knew very little little about each other and there doesn't seem to be much of substance backing their feelings for each other, so it was hard for me to care about them.

Marly

Marly was just an average protagonist. The grief she felt about her parents dying was interesting to read about but I feel like she read a little younger than a nineteen year old. I think the most prominent example of Marly reading a little younger than she was intended to be was when she actually considered staying with Dylan in Colorado instead of finishing her trip so that she could make sure she kept his interest. It felt very childish to me and she didn't really get much better throughout the course of the book. I don't think she grew very much as a character with the exception of maybe the last 25 pages or so.

General Character Thoughts

I feel like at best, the characters were average, and at worst, a little forgettable. I especially feel this way about Dylan and Lori. They both had essentially no personality. Dylan enjoyed hiking, which is necessary, but we get enough of the hiking obsession with Marly. Lori felt a little bit excitable most of the time, but she just felt like the bubbly happy token character there to balance out Marly. Mostly, they both felt like they were both only there for Marly's development rather than having personalities on their own.

Conclusion

Overall, this book was only okay. The repetitive nature really bogged it down for me and since I wasn't really into the romance, even the cutesy scenes that served to break the routine a little bit didn't interest me very much. There does look to be a second book coming, so the story will continue, and I would consider giving it a chance in hopes to see a little bit more character development.

Mini Review: Down Comes The Night by Allison Saft

Tite: Down Comes the Night

Author: Allison Saft

Publication Date: March 2, 2021

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 400

Goodreads Synopsis

He saw the darkness in her magic. She saw the magic in his darkness.

Wren Southerland’s reckless use of magic has cost her everything: she’s been dismissed from the Queen’s Guard and separated from her best friend—the girl she loves. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate, Colwick Hall, to cure his servant from a mysterious illness, she seizes her chance to redeem herself.

The mansion is crumbling, icy winds haunt the caved-in halls, and her eccentric host forbids her from leaving her room after dark. Worse, Wren’s patient isn’t a servant at all but Hal Cavendish, the infamous Reaper of Vesria and her kingdom’s sworn enemy. Hal also came to Colwick Hall for redemption, but the secrets in the estate may lead to both of their deaths.

With sinister forces at work, Wren and Hal realize they’ll have to join together if they have any hope of saving their kingdoms. But as Wren circles closer to the nefarious truth behind Hal’s illness, they realize they have no escape from the monsters within the mansion. All they have is each other, and a startling desire that could be their downfall.

Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night.

Love makes monsters of us all.

Quick Thoughts

This book let me down a little bit. When I originally read the synopsis, it had me so excited to reach for it in my TBR pile, but unfortunately, it was a miss for me.

I think what let me down the most is that from the synopsis and general marketing of the book, I expected the book to be more of a gothic story than it actually turned out to be. Yes, there is a castle and a little bit of a gothic vibe there, it wasn't nearly as strong of a vibe as I expected it to be, especially from a book that is seemingly being categorized as a gothic novel. Overall, I feel like it lacked atmosphere.

The other reason why this book wasn't a hit for me was because of the writing style. There were large descriptive passages of essentially just info-dumping. During these passages I felt like I was being removed from the story rather than being further immersed in the book world and history.

Overall, my experience with this book was rather lukewarm, but this book does have a ton of positive reviews on Goodreads so if you are interested in reading this one, I wouldn't let my review deter you too much. It was just not my cup of tea.

The Wise One by K.T Anglehart (Scottish Scrolls #1)

Title: The Wise One

Series: The Scottish Scrolls

Author: K.T. Anglehart

Expected Publication Date: October 28, 2020

Publisher: Kat Biggie Press

Pages: 213 (epub.)

Introduction

There's something wrong with McKenna. She's always thought so, but after her 17th birthday, things start getting even weirder than they usually are. She's having vivid dreams, and seems to be influencing things. When she goes to her fathers for answers, they are forced to tell her the truth. Her birth mother, a mystic, left to protect her, and she is a Wise One.

They don't offer any other details, so McKenna knows that she must find her mother to to get the whole story. So, she ventures out to across Ireland, knowing that going back to living half in the dark about who is no longer an option.

McKenna

McKenna was an extremely annoying protagonist with very childish tendencies. She was written more like a fourteen year old than someone that just turned seventeen. Everything she does is done without thinking, literally at all. She had no plan for her trip to Ireland, or how she was going to find her mom when she got there, she didn't consider how her parents would feel and she didn't spend a second thinking about the consequences of any of her actions.

McKenna's Journey

I know this is a fantasy novel, but McKenna's journey, both to and around Ireland, was painfully unrealistic, and also painfully irresponsible. First, McKenna leaves without her parents knowing (with, I might add, all their savings stolen from a safe.) She had absolutely no plan. She dragged a person she barely knew with her. Neither of them had passports, and they still managed to get to Ireland, in a way that is so completely out of the realm of possibility that it actually baffled me when I read it, even with McKenna's abilities.

It was also outrageously irresponsible for her to agree to a ride from Cillian, and even more ridiculous that Nissa was the one that suggested it. Neither one of them were a poster child for rational thinking.

To me, everything just seemed like it worked out too perfectly, too much of the time. No obstacle stayed an obstacle, as everything just conveniently fell into place all of the time. I know parts of it were planted that way, but because so much just worked out on it's own, by the end the conflicts didn't hold very much weight to me.

Pace

This wasn't a long book, but unfortunately, there was a lot of time that felt like nothing was happening that was relevant to the story. There was a lot of filler on the road with Cillian that added nothing to plot.

Nissa

I didn't mind Nissa, and I liked her journey throughout the book, but it felt like Nissa was a part of the story most of the time just to be a quirky sidekick to balance McKenna out, and although I didn't mind Nissa's story/journey throughout the book, it was no more realistic than McKenna's was.

Cillian

I liked Cillian's character and his role in the book, although I didn't care much for the feelings that were growing between McKenna and him. It didn't feel like it was based on anything. They didn't know very much about each other on a personal level, so unless McKenna's Wise One influence was working it's mojo on Cillian, there just seemed to be no reason why they would like each other, so to me, it wasn't a very interesting aspect of the story.

Ending

The last 30 pages or so are about the most exciting part of the the whole book. It's the only part of the book where it actually feels like things are moving along at a good pace, and what ultimately upped my rating to two stars on Goodreads.

Conclusion

I was not a fan of this book, even though I so badly wanted to be. I even posted my very first Waiting on Wednesday for it, specifically stating how excited I was to get my hands on this book, but it really missed the mark for me. I liked the ending, but I don't think I will be continuing on with this series.

Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn Mini Review

Introduction
       
       Mercedes "Mercy" Ayres helps virgins. Meaning, she lets them get their awkward clumsy first times over with so they can give their significant other something she never had: A good first time. Mercy works with a system that impeccably makes so that she is always in control; and it stays that way. At least for a little while.

Thoughts

       Saying I wasn't interested in Firsts would be an understatement. I considered just not finishing it, which I hardly ever do. The plot line was predictable, as almost nobody is naive enough to believe that when Mercy's system starts to fail, everybody is going to end up okay and nobody's feelings would be hurt. Frankly, I was very surprised at Mercy in general, especially because of the fact that she actually thought she was helping people. She spent a lot of time believing that what she was doing was for the greater good, and I can kind of understand why, seeing as she had a horrible first time, but still. So all in all, I did not enjoy Firsts. I would recommended this book mostly to teen girls who are looking for something quick to read, there's always a chance that other people will enjoy the book more than I did!

       

They Call Me Alexandra Gastone by T.A Maclagan

*This review is very small as the book is only 188 pages

Author: T.A Maclagan
Pages: 188
Date Published: May 20. 2015
Publisher: Full Fathom Five

Introduction

       Milena Rovka spent 5 years training in a spy facility. Her mission is to become Alexandra Gastone, be a normal high school girl with normal high school relationships, infiltrate the CIA and when the time comes, do whatever needs doing to best serve her country of Olissa, and under no circumstances become attached to her life as Alexandra Gastone, but that's easier said then done when you start to question everything you believe.

Cover

       The cover is very beautiful and truthfully is what drew me to look at the summary to see if it looked interesting or not. I know that people say not to judge a book by its cover, but this cover is lovely, and as far as first impressions go? This book cover nailed it.

Story-line/action

       This book started out very slow and I honestly didn't think it was going to get better. But it did...slightly. I hoped for more action, more spy-like activities but there wasn't much. Even the spy-like activities that did happen were very subtle and not intense like I hoped they would be.

Milena Rovka a.k.a Alexandra Gastone

     I found "Alexandra" very, very boring and I lost interested in her inner conflict very quickly which is a shame because a very large portion of this book is that of her inner conflict of weather she will stay faithful to the missions that she is assigned. I found her annoying and whiny, which to sometimes I can understand because the situations she's been put it aren't always the easiest to deal with, but it got to the point where I was tired of reading about it

Conclusion

       I had very high hopes for this book, but I was sadly let down. The book started out pretty slow, and uninteresting, and even as it progressed, it didn't get much better. I found this book to be boring. The ending is set up so that a sequel could be published, but honestly, I'm not interested in reading it if it does happen. The good news is that either gender could enjoy this, even though I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean that somebody else may. It's a bit of a light read, short, with a little bit of action sprinkled in here and there,

The Clique by Valarie Thomas

Author: Valerie Thomas
Format: Paperaback

Introduction (official synopsis)
      The Clique is the story of Audrey Hughes, and the attempt of a boy to win her over by bringing her down. Manipulating her friends, poisoning her relationships, and tearing at her family; Devon will stop at nothing to get what he wants. But Audrey isn’t so easily ruined. She fights for her friends, pulling closer even when they would push her away.

Cover
       The cover, is beautiful. It looks as though it is sketched into paper with a pencil and I love it. Though, I do not believe that it is fitting for the story. I think a more fitting cover may have been Audrey and her friends, since the book centers around friendship. All that aside, though. It is very appealing to the eyes.

Characters
       The book mostly centers around Audrey, but also has little bits of her friends, Hannah, Maddie, and Kate. I found that they were all kind of the same. Other than the fact that Audrey hates cussing and is admittedly a virgin. All of the girls in this book are the same popular teenage girl I am tired of reading about. In fact, they were so the same, that I kept getting confused as which girl was dating  what  guy and little things like that.

Dislikes
    Hannah, Maddie, Audrey and Kate throw parties and drink and fool around with guys frequently in the book, which I found boring and just a way to make the girls look "edgy" and "badass" I for one, wasn't buying it for one minute.

Conclusion
       This book didn't hold my attention at all. The characters were worn out and tired, the drama inside was boring and childish. I wouldn't read this book again. Would I ever recommend this book? Maybe. Not necessarily for young adults. This book might be better suited for a middle-grade audience. 

Rosebush by Michelle Jaffe

Author: Michelle Jaffe
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 326 Date Published: December 7 2010
Published by: RazorBill

Introduction
       Jane doesn't remember what happened the night of the party. Everybody Jane knows is trying to convince her that she was a victim in a hit and run. Since Jane is in the hospital unable to move all she can do is think. She knows that what everybody is telling her isn't true. Somebody tried to kill her. Unfortunately, she can barley recall the night of the party herself. So as her friends come to visit to help her remember what happened, she has to try to uncover the secrets that she has long since locked away.

Cover
       I like the roses on this cover, but while I was looking at this cover with somebody that I know, we noticed that you can see right up the girls nose. Not very attractive.

Characters/Relationships
       Jane was not a good character. Jane is the girl that is popular, and mostly, she gets everything she wants. That said, I could not relate to her at all. She is the type of girl who thinks that everybody has to like her, which in books, and reality, is quite annoying.
       I didn't like Langley or Kate either. They are both just uninteresting rich girls.
       Oh yeah, and then we have how Kate says things that aren't questions, like questions. here's an example of when she does this in the book (The bold writing will be Kate) *NOT A SPOILER*
       "What's wrong?"
       "N-Nothing, I'm just tired?"
       After a while it becomes rather annoying.
       As for David and Jane. I didn't like this relationship. I guess it doesn't really help if I don't like either of them to begin with. I found David mean and irrational most of the time. Also, it really bugged me that David calls Jane 'lover lips.' I'm not a big fan of nicknames like that. Or how about the fact that instead of saying goodbye, he says, 'Stay Soft.' First of all,  what does that even mean? Stay...nice? Stay...happy? I don't even know.

Writing
       This book goes back and forth between the present day and Jane's memory. The times that it switches back are random because she suddenly remembers things about the party that she forgot about. I found the random switching okay, but sometimes confusing.
 
Conclusion
       I tried to like this book, I really did. I was super excited when I started to read it. Then you get to know some of the characters, and the excitement kind of wears off. Completely. And doesn't come back. Ever.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Author: James Dashner
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Date Published: October 6, 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Author's Website: www.jamesdashner.com


Introduction
        Thomas can't remember anything other than his first name when he finds himself in the Glade. A big space surrounded by stone walls. Many other boys are in the Glade, and like him, they don't remember anything before arriving. All Thomas wants is some answers, unfortunately the other boys in the Glade don't have all the answers. All they know is that:

1. A new boy comes to the Glade every month.

2. Outside the Glade is a maze

3. The walls that lead inside the Maze open every morning and close every night

4. Nobody has ever survived the Maze overnight.

       Just a day after Thomas' arrival, something extraordinary happens. A girl comes to the Glade and she delivers a mysterious message. Then suddenly, nothing is as it seems, and everything is different. So different in fact that the all the boys are starting to lose hope that an exit inside the Maze exists.

Cover
      I really dislike this cover. I can't put my finger on why, but I can't bring myself to like it.

Characters/Relationship
      All of the characters in this book are boys except for one. I didn't mind that at all. Sadly, I couldn't bring myself to like the protagonist. Throughout the whole story he didn't really show a lot development. Overall he just wasn't very interesting.
       A character I did like in the book was Newt. He had a good personality and was fun to read about.
       Then of course, I have to mention Chuck. He is the first person that Thomas befriends and they stay friends throughout the entire book. He can get a little annoying at times but most of the time he is really sweet.
       No real love story in this book, though I suspect that something might happen between Thomas and Teresa in the next book.

Dislikes
       I just have one thing to mention that really bugged me about the book. The beginning is really slow. I mean for the longest time nothing really happens. I went through about 100 pages being bored with the book.

Conclusion
        I had really high hopes for this book. When you read the blurb on the back it seems quite interesting. Also after seeing all the hype that this book was getting, I decided that I better read it before the movie comes out. (Read on for details on the movie.) But yeah, I haven't really decided if I am going to continue with the series, but maybe If I find out a little more about it       
       






Movie
        The movie is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2014. (So many movies are going to be released around Valentines Day!)

Cast

      Dylan O'Brien as Thomas

       

       Kaya Scodelario as Teresa

       Aml Ameen as Alby

       Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt

       Blake Cooper as Chuck

       

       Will Poulter as Gally

       Ki Hong as Minho

       I think some of the actors look a little old to be playing teenagers, but overall it's an alright cast n my opinion.

      

       Hey look, pictures! YAY!

 

Velveteen by Daniel Marks

Author: Daniel Marks
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 447
Date Published: October 9 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Introduction

       The purgatory is gray, ashen, and depressing. It's where you end up if you are not ready to go to heaven or hell when you die. At sixteen, Velveteen 'Velvet' Manroe was murdered. Velvet landed herself in the purgatory and boy, does she have a lot on her plate. She had sworn vengeance on her killer, Bonesaw, who's list of victims is growing. Another thing that seems to have everybody in the purgatory on edge is a group of people called the Departurists. They don't believe in the way the purgatory is run, want to destroy it, and go around possessing living people out in "The Daylight." Leaving the purgatory and haunting/possessing people is of course not allowed, unless given permission. If you get caught haunting, your soul could be bound to the purgatory and you are forbidden to move on to heaven or hell when you are ready. On top of all that, Nick a guy new to the purgatory, seems to have wriggled his way into Velvet's heart and she of course, doesn't have time for that.

Cover
       The cover of Velveteen is nice. Showing two obviously dead people lying down. So, I guess you can add me to the list of people who love this cover.

Characters
      I didn't really like any of the characters in this book. I really disliked Velvet. She isn't really ever nice, and she is actually kind of whiny. When you first start to read this book, you might be thinking things like,
Velvet is going to be so cool!
Yeah, she's such a rebel!
I wish I could be like her!

Nope. Like I said before, she is mean, whiny, and annoying.

Dislikes
       Sadly, reading this book wasn't always cookies and cream. The blurb on the dust cover is misleading. More than half of the blurb is about how she wants to haunt Bonesaw. It also mentions nothing about the Departurists. In the actual book though, haunting Bonesaw is about 10% of the book (more or less) and the other 90% is about the Departurists and Nick. Also when I first started reading this book I was a little confused. I took a few chapters for me to understand what was going on, and then right when I felt like I was on top of things, BAM! something confusing happens again. Another thing about the actual story, there are also super boring parts in the book. So boring in fact that you might need to stop reading and put the book down for a while.
      Then, we have the relationship between Velvet and Nick. Velvet saves Nick from being imprisoned in a crystal ball at about the 120th page mark. Soon after, they kiss. Then they have this whole complicated relationship thing going on. Velvet always swears after they kiss that, that kiss will be the last. It never is.

The Ending
        When this book ends, you will end up with a lot of questions. Nothing really feels finished. All I can say is that this book desperately needs a sequel. Although so far the're are no plans to write one.

Conclusion
       This book seemed really promising when I started to read it. It turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. One of the biggest disappointments for me is the getting revenge on Bonesaw isn't a bigger part of the book. I think boys could read the book. I mean, the purgatory idea is really interesting, and the characters are pretty cool. Even though the protagonist is a girl, she isn't very girly. All boys would really have to look past is the romance and it could be a really good book for them too.

The Tiffin By Mahtab Narimhan

Author Mahtab Narsimhan
Pages: 192
Year Published 2011
Publisher: Dancing Cat Books

Introduction
       In Bombay, a pregnant teenager is forced to rely on tiffins (Lunch boxes with warm food inside) and dabbawallas (The people that deliver the tiffins) to get a very important letter to her boyfriend. She trusts that the letter, tucked inside tiffin will reach him. After all, a tiffin rarely gets lost.
       The story centers around a twelve year old orphan boy named Kunal. He works as a slave for Mrs. Seth and Sethji. Each day one thing puts a smile on his face. Seeing an old dabbawalla named Vinayak.  Vinayak understands what Kunal is going through and offers Kunal a place to stay if things ever get too bad. Kunal quickly takes him up on his offer. Before leaving though, Mrs. Seth gives him one piece of information: His mother is alive and is living in Bombay. Now Kunal only has one thing on his mind. Finding his mother. First, he needs a job. Vinayak is trying his hardest to get Kunal a job as a dabbawalla but in the meantime he is stuck with a job at another restaurant. He soon figures out a plan. All he needs to do is send a note in every tiffin asking to meet his mother. Now all he has to do is get a job as a dabbawalla. Unfortunately, Vinayak is unable to get Kunal a job due to his family situation. Just as Kunal has lost all hope, the dabbawalla leaders agree that although they can't let Kunal become a dabbawalla, they can send some notes in the tiffins. A small glimmer of hope lives inside Kunal once again. But now the only thing he can do is hope for a reply.

Characters/Relationships

       Kunal at some points was a little unrealistic about finding his mother. Luckily he has Vinayak to keep him from getting his hopes up too much. I have say that throughout the whole book, Vinayak was my favorite character. He cares about Kunal a lot more that Kunal actually realizes. Vinayak can seem kind of mean sometimes but everything he does is for Kunal's own good in the end.
       No love story involved in this book. And no past relationships with anybody mentioned.

Conclusion
       Overall, this book was alright. I probably won't pick up this book for a second read. I was able to stick with it to the end, but it just wasn't as promising as I thought it was going to be. Boys and girls could read this book, either gender could enjoy it

       
       

The Town That Drowned By: Reil Nason

Author: Riel Nason
Pages: 288
Date Published: October 7 2011
Publisher: Goose Lane Edition

Introduction
       When survey stakes appear around the town of Haventon people assume it is because the Haventon bridge is going to be replaced. Unfortunately that is not the case. A dam is going to be built. Once the dam is being built the town will slowly begin to flood. Everything will eventually be underwater. Everybody in the town is forced to move into a new town that is being built over the next three years. People are very reluctant to leave the town where they had grown up. 14 year old Ruby watches as her town becomes empty right before her eyes.


Cover
       I don't like the cover on this book. It's because of the face that the girl that I assume is Ruby is making. Personally I don't like when book covers have a close up of a face as the cover.


Characters/Relationships
       My favorite character in this book is Mr. Cole the elderly man that Ruby works for. I love how nice and awesomely generous he is. I spent a lot of time feeling bad for Percy in the book people judge him because he doesn't like things to change, and they bully him because he cries a lot.
       Ruby does get into a relationship when she meets Troy. Only a small part of the book has Troy in it though, because his father is a antique dealer and is only in town for the for a few weeks here and there for his father to buy things. Then he returns to Kingston where he lives.

Dislikes
       The book tells you a lot about stories that happened in the past. I wouldn't mind so much if these stories actually came up again and served a purpose, but many of them don't . Most of them are just pointless stories that are never really acknowledged later in the book.

Conclusion
       Overall I didn't like this book very much. It didn't hold my interest like I thought it would. A boy could read this book too. But I can't say which gender would like it more.