J.C. Buchanan

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Title: Sara Lost and Found

Author: Virginia Castleman

Published By: Aladdin (2016)

Synopsis: Sisters Anna and Sara must rely on each other for strength as they face being separated by the foster care system in this heartwrenching tale of sisterhood, family, and survival.
Sara and Anna Olsen face an uncertain world. Their mother left home and may—or may not—be coming back. Their father is a drummer in a band and comes home long after the girls go to sleep—if he comes home at all. Too often, ten-year-old Sara and twelve-year-old Anna are left to fend for themselves. Then one night, three loud knocks at the door change everything: their father is in jail and social services has come to take the girls away. Rather than risk being split up, Sara and Anna decide their only option is to run away.
But the girls don’t get very far, and when the authorities catch up with them, Sara and Anna are forced back into the foster care system. Along the way, the girls encounter good people who want to help them but they also meet people who have no patience for mistakes or accidents. As Anna begins to act out or withdraw completely, Sara knows that it’s up to her to take care of her older sister. But what if she can’t anymore? What if she finds a forever home that may not include Anna? Will Sara keep the promise she made to her mother to stay with her sister or will she find the courage to do what’s best for herself?
Inspired by true events, this heartrending and hopeful novel of survival, friendship, and sisterhood, tells the tale of two sisters who must find the strength to face anything that life may throw their way. (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book!

I haven’t read a lot of foster-kid books, so this is the first one I’ve read in a while. It was sweet and touching and I found myself eagerly awaiting when I could get back to reading it. The characters drew me in, and I couldn’t wait to see what they did next.

The story focuses on ten-year-old Sara, and her sister Anna. Sara and Anna haven’t had the best experiences growing up—their parents constantly had problems, and eventually their mom disappeared. It was okay for a little while with their dad, but then he disappeared, too, and turns out it’s because he’s been sent to prison. So the girls are shuffled into foster care—first to stay with Ben and Rachel, some of their favorite people, and then to two different homes, both which are decent in their own way.  Along the way, Sara begins to discover things about herself and her sister.

I thought the author captured Sara’s feelings of being lost and alone so well; the tone of the story sounded perfectly like a ten-year-old. This backfired a bit, for the writing was only decent—ten year olds can only think so advanced—but it was true to real life, which I thought was done well. Sara sounded like a very realistic ten-year-old with ten-year-old struggles outside even the foster home situation.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed in the ending from the standpoint that I cheered Sara on when she fought for her sister, and I wanted to see them reunited, together, adopted. The message I felt was sent was more what was best for Anna, even if it meant she was “locked up,” somewhere and apart from Sara, and I get that aspect of what’s best for Anna and not holding her back—but I don’t necessarily think that message was necessarily exactly accurate or true to real life, and definitely not the ending or message any of the readers were rooting for.

On the other hand, I did like the ending because it did tie together well and served a good, positive ending and growth for Sara, and considering the book is focused around Sara, it was done well. I was simply disappointed in the Anna subplot, which was built up to be more than a subplot, and then disappeared back into subplot before being really brought together. I did love Sara’s growth as a character, though.

So overall, I really did enjoy this book, I just thought the whole foster-care system thing was painted too happily. For a book about foster care that turned out good, this book did amazing. It just didn’t seem to match up with what I thought it was going to be reading about. Then again, you can only write so deep when you’re writing to kids.

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Recommended to: Ages 8+.

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Title: Glass Girl

Author: Laura Anderson Kirk

Published By: Playlist Young Adult Fiction (2013)

Synopsis: The ice cold fear I’d felt, not knowing if Wyatt was alive, pressed into the wall with other girls and surrounded by guys who were unspeakably brave, hit my body again in a wave. This was trauma–the gift that keeps on giving.
When Meg Kavanagh finds herself in the unthinkable role of grieving sister, she discovers some harsh truths–parents aren’t perfect, life’s not always sweet, and the dead don’t write back. Her famous artist mom grieves by slowly disappearing, and her dad copes by moving them to a small town in Wyoming.
What she finds in Wyoming blindsides her.
His name is Henry Whitmire, and he shows Meg that the best things in life–like falling in love and finding mercy–require uncommon courage.
From young adult author Laura Anderson Kurk comes a heartfelt story with bittersweet intensity and emotional storytelling. (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

This was quite a read! I was captivated by the characters. While it was a little slow in the beginning, once I got into the flow of the story, I was hooked.

At the beginning, I was a little unsure of the story. It took a while for me to grasp the concept of the plot and what exactly it was; the few few chapters is just Meg’s emotions and memories, and not much really happens besides a bit of curiosity built up over Wyatt. After that, however, the story really picked up speed and before long I couldn’t put it down.

I loved the descriptive writing, the way the author drew the reader in so well. Everything was very realistic, very believable, and very touching. There’s mystery enough to keep reading, yes, but more, you read for the characters, to get to know Meg and Tennyson and Henry. Yet, if that’s not enough on its own to keep you reading, there’s also these subplots creeping in, of her mom and then of Tennyson’s issues and of course the romance.

I really, really liked the way the author did the Christian themes in this story. It wasn’t up in your face, but the answers are there, given naturally in response to the character’s questions, which is always the best way to reveal things. It was subtle but strong, sent all the right messages while still retaining a subtle feel. I especially liked this because I feel too many authors these days are trying to make super Christian-dominated books, but those books will never reach the ones they’re trying to reach. This book’s messages are subtle enough to not irriate the unbeliever, but strong enough to make them think, and I thought in this way the author was incredibly smart and talented in her way of revealing this.

I did have some negatives, though. I didn’t like Tennyson and kept waiting for a message to be sent about hanging with the wrong crowd, but that never came, so that was a disappointment. I was also very disappointed about the relationship between Henry and Meg. They’re a sweet couple, sure, and yes, things stay clean, but they’re kissing an awful lot for not even being sure if they’re going to date. Even when it is established they are in love, that doesn’t change the fact they kissed before Meg was sure they were, and so I was disappointed in the message it sent about that.

Overall:

I thought it was a great book. A bit slow at the beginning, but impossible to put down once you get started. Satisfying ending but realistic, and all tied together well. I’m not sure I’ll read the sequel if it’s all romance, but I do love the characters enough to consider it.

Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

Recommended to: Ages 12+

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Title: A Time to Speak (Out of Time, #2)

Author: Nadine Brandes

Published By: Enclave Publishing (2015)

Synopsis: What happens when you live longer than you wanted to?
Parvin Blackwater wanted to die, but now she’s being called to be a leader. The only problem is, no one wants to follow.
The Council is using Jude’s Clock-matching invention to force “new-and-improved” Clocks on the public. Those who can’t afford one are packed into boxcars like cattle and used for the Council’s purposes. Parvin and Solomon team up to rescue the people. Instead, they find themselves on a cargo ship of Radicals headed out to sea. What will the Council do to them? And why are people suddenly dying before their Clocks have zeroed-out? (Taken from Goodreads)

Review:

A Time to Speak ruined my life. But it was simultaneously one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Where to even begin?

First of all, if you haven’t read the first book yet, please refrain from reading this review, because there are spoilers everywhere. If you have read the 1st, I’ve kept this spoiler-free from the second.

EVERYTHING about this book was BEAUTIFUL.

Okay, so the book is 400+ pages, yet never once did I feel it was drawn out. This is a huge rarity for me, being drawn-out books are practically my #1 pet peeve next to stereotypical dystopians. I’m sick and tired of YA dystopian novels, but this series was unlike any YA dystopian I’ve ever read, to an extent that it hardly even felt like a dystopian at all. It has a definite YA feel to it, but it’s definitely not limited to that age, either.

I’ll start with one negative—I didn’t really get the love interest between Solomon and Parvin. Sure, it’s well-written, well-described, cute, and clean, but I just didn’t get it. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Actually, now that I think about it, the one weakness in this series would probably be the romance because though it’s written well, it just feels weak. I did like it, I just didn’t get it all the time.

This story, just like the first, was incredibly well-structured. Scenes are well-developed and to the point. Every big event leads into the next. The bad guys are vicious, but not predictable—just like it would be in real life. I’m a writer, so I see plot twists a lot, but this book had me totally unaware most of the time, wondering what the plot twist would be, and I never figured it out until it happened. This was a huge positive for me.

The setting was clever and described realistically. I mean, Antarctica? Cities like Lost Angel in where California is? The creativity of this author never stops! Everything stayed so true to real life while also staying so true to the dystopian setting. Lots of characters come and go, but never once was it hard to keep track of things.

Characters? I LOVED PARVIN. She’s so incredible, so unique, and so independent. She’s smart and clever and loves God and trying to do the right thing.

And the ENDING. NO. THE ENDING. THIS IS NOT OK WITH ME. (I’ve kindly removed spoilers for your reading connivence here, but they are included in my review on Goodreads if you’d like to read my reaction to the ending and how it ruined my life.)

Overall:

Bottom line? I simultaneously hate it with every fiber of my being and love it so much I’m going to read it over and over for the rest of  my life. I’ve never had a book series affect me this much before! Read it. You won’t regret it! Counting down till book 3!

Notes:

Though it is 100% clean and everything is portrayed in a wholesome light, there are some mentions to more romantic things—Parvin thinks that her love, Solomon, has just said that he wants to sleep with her, and her heart begins to race. It turns out he didn’t say that, though, and nothing happens.

Rating: 5.0 / 5.0

Recommended to: All fans of A Time to Die. This is not a sequel to be missed.