J.C. Buchanan

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Title: The Letter (Hills of Innocence, #2)

Author: Willowy Whisper

Published By: Willowy Whisper (2016)

Synopsis: First it was just a letter, maybe a joke, a coincidence. Now it was more than that. Now it was a living nightmare, threatening everyone he loved, pulling his greatest fear into a reality . . . As the letters keep coming, Brock Sumner watches his world shatter at his feet. Building a wall around his heart seemed like the only answer. Is there any other way to protect the woman he loves?
A drunk, with no incentive to change; a runaway, with a price on his back; a young child, afraid in the dark . . . Will the letters, perhaps, pull their lives together? Or will the killer find a way to destroy them all? (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

I cannot wrap my mind around this book.

This book was amazing.

I mean. Seriously.

It’s a Western murder mystery, with strong pulls of romance, and a positive, strong Christian message (not at all cheesy, either). It’s right up there with all the other great works of literature in my opinion—and get this: it’s written by a 17 year old! This book is easily one of the best written books I’ve ever read in my life. It had me in tears, had me laughing, had me shouting “No!” at times…The author did a phenomenal, phenomenal job.

The characters were well developed down to the last detail, and so, so amazing and loveable. The distinct character arcs of each character show such growth, with not one character staying the same throughout the course of the story, but instead changing and learning and growing; and of course, it was done beautifully, skillfully, and with elegance. Not one character is unlovable; and even the characters that are, in theory, more unlikeable the reader still cares about. Each character’s thread is a strong pull on the story and each character contributes in an important way. Not one character do we not know, not one character do we not love, not one character do we not understand; it’s as if we were right there in the story, living it out and understanding the characters just as well as we understand people in real life. Granted, some of the characters we know better than others, but the way it came together leaves no doubt that the author not only put lots of thought and development into each character, but also loved the less important ones just as much. I get the feeling you could ask the author about the most insignificant character in the book and she could tell you their birthday and their family and everything about them—that’s how well rounded the characters were and how much thought seemed to be put into this book.

The storyline flowed so naturally yet so astoundingly, pulling together so many seemingly unconnected stories together to form one bigger, greater story. What the author is able to bring together—the most unrelated stories, without being cliche or cheesy, but still being well written—is truly stunning and I am in awe. There’s the drunk who doesn’t want to change. There’s the guy who’s determined never to love again. There’s the friend who’s facing his own awful situation. There’s the sweet girl who’s in love and also struggling with feeling loved. There’s runaway with a terrible secret. And there’s the young child who lives in fear. And every one of their stories is distinct and beautiful, unique in its own way, yet somehow, all of them tie together to form a beautiful picture and an incredible story. I was worried that the book would end pathetically—there was so much going on and so much to pull together—but I could not have been more wrong. Willowy Whisper did not only just do a good job, but an incredible one.

And then the themes: can we talk for a minute about the themes of this book and how well they are done? The things woven in this book are well above the author’s age and deserving of adult recognition. She’s right up there with other famous literary works, and I was stunned by the amount of mature topics she was able to weave together at her age. I will note that everything was wholesome and positive—but it definitely ranked a higher reading level in my opinion, not just in the writing but in the content.

As well, there are so many positive Christian messages, and nothing at all cheesy about it. They were natural and graceful and flowed easily with the storyline, causing you to cheer and smile every time it showed itself. The love and romance remained wholesome and sweet and had me laughing giddily every time a love interest I’d been rooting for occurred. Though I will note there is a lot of romance in this book—almost every character falls in love—it does not come off unnaturally or forced, but rather in a gentler, sweeter way, causing the reader to root for the match rather than groan at yet another love interest.

The author has a marvelous way with words—I’d say that’s what it comes down to. Her ability to tell a story is far above her age and I was completely blown away. Her books never cease to amaze me, and in the case of The Letter, it not only amazed me, but also captivated me. I enjoyed every word of this book, which had me crying, laughing, shouting and much more as I navigated the pages of the characters’ lives. They truly came alive.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 5.0

Recommended to: I’d highly, highly recommend this book, which has taken its place among my other favorite books of all time!

 

** I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

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Title: The Elite (The Selection, #2)

Author: Kiera Cass

Published By: HarperTeen (2013)

Synopsis:

 The Selection began with thirty-five girls.
Now with the group narrowed down to the six Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon’s heart is fiercer than ever—and America is still struggling to decide where her heart truly lies. Is it with Maxon, who could make her life a fairy tale? Or with her first love, Aspen?
America is desperate for more time. But the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America’s chance to choose is about to slip away. (Taken from Goodreads)

 

Review:

A while ago I read and liked The Selection, and originally, I planned to read the rest of the series right away. However, I couldn’t get into The Elite at first so I forgot about it until recently when a friend of mine highly recommended it, so I decided to try it again.

While this book wasn’t amazing or incredible, it was intriguing enough that it kept my interest in the entire two days it took me to read it. I appreciated the way the story stayed mostly clean, even though it was a book focused on romance.

So as a whole I did enjoy this book and found it a quick entertaining read. However, there were some downsides. I felt the writing from the first to the second became crippled—the writing in The Elite wasn’t like The Selection; it was worse, if anything. Now granted, it’s still a long way above the average YA dystopian but it was a little disappointing coming off the Selection.

Second, the plot was incredibly predictable and a *bit* repetitive (sarcasm intended).  Unlike the prior book, America became unrealistic, flat, and unlikeable extremely fast. She was very inconsistant and her character didn’t line up with her previous character. In one scene she’s certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that Maxon is who she wants to be with, and the next scene Aspen shows up and all of a sudden, she “knows” that she was so silly with Maxon and Aspen’s who she wants to be with. The NEXT scene, though, Maxon is telling her how much he loves her and she feels ashamed she ever did not want him because he is the one she wants to be with, not Aspen. Then the following scene she decides that Maxon is a liar and she should just go with Aspen, because she knows he’s always trustworthy. Her heart moved around every second and she had a different mindset each chapter, not just making the story cheesy and unrealistic, but also making America a  little unlikeable as a character.

In fact, America was a lot less likeable than in Book 1. She was naive and her character felt really forced and unnatural. Though maybe all her decisions are true to her character, they were all very rushed and done in a way that seemed forceful and more like the author was trying to meet a deadline than trying to make a real character. Overall this definitely seemed to be a book written quickly, as a lot of this could have been fixed with a couple more edits in my opinion.

Overall:

Despite all this, though, it was an enjoyable enough story. It was clean and decently written. I don’t usually like stories like these, but either way, it wasn’t a bad book.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 3.0

Recommended to: Not recommended.

 

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Title: The Boy Who Knew Everything

Author: Victoria Forester

Published By: Feiwel & Friends (2015)

Synopsis: 

Here is the long-awaited companion to The Girl Who Could Fly.
There is a prophecy.
It speaks of a girl who can fly and a boy who knows everything. The prophecy says that they have the power to bring about great change…
The boy is Conrad Harrington III. The girl is Piper McCloud. They need their talents now, more than ever, if they are to save the world—and themselves. (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

The long awaited sequel to The Girl Who Could Fly, this action-paced and thrilling novel not only fifulled my expectations, but also surpassed them.  This book, which could be easily independent, not only continued the story from the first book but also embellished it, painting beautifully the depths unseen before.  This was an amazing read!

One of my surprises in reading this book was the larger amount of fantasy and fantastical circumstances. While the first book could be considered ‘fantasy’, it still had a very realistic feeling to it. This book, however, had a much stronger magical pull. I was a little disappointed in this, in the aspect that towards the end words and phrases such as “spells” and even “spirits” were used, which to me didn’t match up with the feel of the first book at all. Yet, it didn’t go into it too much, so it wasn’t negative enough for me to lower my appreciation; it was just one thing that didn’t make sense to me, especially since everything else was written so realistically, like the first book. It almost seemed as if the author intended to make this more fantastical, then kept forgetting about it.

The characters! Piper, Conrad, Violet—they’re all back in this book, and more developed than ever. For the first time, we get a glimpse of the true personalities of Nahem and Ahmed, as well as few other minor characters we barely glimpsed in Book I. Conrad’s character was done so, so, well: things that didn’t add up about his character previously now all make perfect sense. For the first time we catch glimpses of Conrad’s true being, his true colors, and I won’t spoil anything except to say I was amazed. Backstories and secrets come together to create stunningly real characters. Piper, of course, is amazing as usual, and since we already know her fairly well, it was wonderful to get to see her again and get to know her even better. Her loyalty and love is unfailing, and it’s simply impossible not to root for her. Now suddenly, things that we didn’t understand about the first book all make perfect sense.

This book was action filled and adventure paced all the way through, yet with still enough time and pace between each moment for the gentler, softer moments of the book. Sweet moments between characters and touching conversations are still present, giving us time to really once again fall in love with these characters; right as the action kicks back in again, sending us for a rollercoaster of a ride. Plot twists were common, unexpected, and shocking—written very well and right into the plotline. There were lots of reveals, all done very well, and all unexpected and unforeseen.

Better yet, the storyline had such a strong structure, with reveals in the right places, answers in the right time, and questions presented cleverly. It did not feel drawn out once, and I was pleased to see every scene work its way smartly into the plotline and prove itself of importance. Not one scene dragged, and not one scene proved pointless, which is always a plus for me.

And one last thing: the ending. I won’t spoil it; I’ll only say it was one of the best endings I’ve read in a long, long time. It had a shock factor, a fear factor, and yet did not end in a horrific way. It was bravery to the extent of bravery, loyalty to the extent of loyalty, and so, so much more. Fantastic job, Victoria Forester. And one last note, real quick about the themes: they were so amazing, positive, encouraging, and beautiful. Loyalty, which I’ve mentioned, and bravery, as well as self sacrifice, friendship, family, overcoming evil, staying true to yourself, and so much more.

So despite the childish look to this book, there is so much hidden in the depths of the pages. It was a beautiful book, cleverly and talentedly answering and fifulling expectations from the first book, yet adding a deeper and more meaningful touch.

Negative Content:

None.

Rating: 5.0

Recommended to: I’d highly recommend it to fans of The Girl Who Could Fly: it does not disappoint!