Author Guest Post + Book Giveaway: Savita Kahlan, Author of The Long Weekend

Savita Kahlan is the author of the chilling thriller, The Long Weekend. This book is absolutely terrifying, due to the subject matter and the author's skill at creating a tense, suspenseful situation where the lives of two boys are at stake. Though this book is thoroughly disturbing, I know that it takes a great writer to develop this type of character/ reader connection. I am highly impressed and completely freaked out.

For her tour stop at DeRaps Reads, I asked Ms. Kahlan to share a bit about a nightmare that she's had. As many of you know from previous posts, I have nightmares almost every night. In fact, I just had a horrific one last night, based on a book I'm currently reading. I'm glad to report that it wasn't as terrifying as Ms. Kahlan's, which you can read about here.

My Nightmare

“It’s dark and the streetlamps emit little light. I’m crouched behind a car, hiding. I’m alone. The street is eerily quiet and deserted, the houses on either side are abandoned. I don’t know how I ended up here all by myself with not a single living soul in sight. I’m catching my breath, thinking maybe I’m safe for a while. I’ve been running all night, running and hiding, running and hiding. Am I doomed never to see the light of day breaking over the horizon, the sweet chorus of birdsong, the rattle and clink of the milkman? I can hear a distant rattle and clink, but it’s not the milkman making early deliveries of bottles of milk. This is the rattle and clink of something else, something that may have once been human, but any humanity it once had has been lost for an age and it has no recollection of what it was like to be human.

The dreaded sound is distant, but I won’t be fooled by that. They almost had me before – yes, there is more than one, more than ten, perhaps twenty or more. I did not stop to count each contorted, disfigured being as they defied their stuttering gait, their misshapen limbs, and robot-like seethed across the fast dwindling space that separated them from me. I begin to move, slowly at first using the parked cars as my shield, then quicker as a glimpse of a rotting arm from the other side of the car. I begin to run. They’re closing in on me. Their guttural cries, their agonised moaning, their strange wheezing, the rattle and clink of the chains that once held them dragging across the ground, it all becomes louder. I run into an abandoned house, hoping to find help, but there is no one there, no weapons, nothing I can use to defend myself. I hear the shuffle of footsteps scraping across floorboards. They’ve followed me. I stifle a scream, my hand stuffed in my mouth, my heart beating so fast I think it might explode...”

And this is when I hope to wake up from the nightmare! Sometimes I do, sweating and panting and clutching at the duvet, other times the nightmare continues...

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And that's just a sample of the quality of Ms. Kalhan's terrifically terrifying writing. The Long Weekend is sure to have you feeling disturbed--even the most jaded of readers will have some heightened sense of fear or fright!

Ms. Kalhan is giving away one copy of her book to one lucky commenter. You have one week to enter this INTERNATIONAL giveaway (closes March 4th). Please leave a comment reacting to Ms. Kalhan's nightmare or describe one of your own. Make sure to leave an email where you can be reached if you are the winner.

Book Review: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Ever since she was young, Violet Ambrose could smell and feel and sense death. And I don't mean that she could smell dead bodies, it is more like she has the ability to locate the spirit of a dead body, if that makes any sense. When she was just eight, she found her first dead body. A girl. Who had been murdered. Rather than scare her to the point of losing her powers, Violet has learned to listen to her senses and actively looks for the dead who call to her...Not that she can resist the urges when they call to her.

Now that she's a teen, she is living a fairly normal life. Not many people know about her special skills, and she normally senses the dead bodies of animal and birds that have been killed by a predator. Until she finds another body. This time, it's another teen girl and it's not long until another girl disappears. And then another.

It is clear that there's a serial killer on the loose. Violet's uncle, a local police officer, believes in Violet's ability and uses her skills every once in a while to help locate the dead. Now, Violet is in danger. The killer has spotted her talking with the police and is out to get her.

Along with this suspenseful story comes a bit of romance. Violet and her best best friend Jay have a great romantic tension between them. They are obviously compatible; that's what made them such great friends for so long. But, Violet is worried that a mistake or awkward encounter with Jay will interfere with her friendship. Jay doesn't seem to have these fears. He's pretty clear (in my opinion) about his feelings for Violet.

I enjoyed this suspenseful, romantic story. I've read some criticism about the author's choice to have the romance between Violet and Jay and the whole serial killer thing all together in one book. I liked it. I don't know that a book that was entirely about a serial killer and Violet's special abilities would've held my attention so well. I liked a respite every now and again from the serial killing, especially since the segments written from the serial killer's point of view were so utterly disturbing. Well written, yes. But totally gross.

I will definitely continue reading books in this series. I think it's original and interesting and even a bit realistic, as far as paranormal lit goes. Plus, it's entertaining and I like the characters. What more could you ask for?

Book Review + Winter Wonderland Giveaway: Trapped by Michael Northrop

What would you do if you were stuck inside your high school in a deadly snowstorm?

This is the basic premise of Michael Northrup's Trapped, a fast-paced and gripping thriller about a group of seven high school students who are literally locked inside their school after several feet of snow are dumped on it. Seems like a pretty innocent and basic plot, but when you think about these mismatched group of teens trapped inside this school, you can imagine the fight for survival that ensues.

I found the main character and the story's hero, Scotty, to be a pretty realistic teen boy. From the moment the snow starts to fall, he doubts the brilliance of the plan to stay at the school, even though his friends are intent on doing so. When all of the students but the group of seven are gone, Scotty seems to be the first to step into survival mode and is often the voice of reason and calm throughout the story.

Even more than Scotty, I loved the suspense in this novel. I teach in an old high school (it's being renovated right now) and can just imagine the structural issues that would cause our school to come crashing down if this old building were asked to hold several feet of heavy snow. It wouldn't be long before our building collapsed. But, in Trapped, you never quite find out what ends up happening to all of the kids or the school building itself. I loved this. You know that not everyone made it out alive, which is alluded to in the first chapters of the book, but never know the true extent of the damage.

This would be a great read for a reluctant teen reader, particularly male readers. It's short but not without a whole lot of "what would you do" questions. There are easy parallels between this book and others like Lord of the Flies, although this story is not too similar to be a snow-induced knockoff. A perfect read for a snowy day!

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Want to win a copy of this book? Signed? It's made out to me, but you can just pretend! I'm giving away my ARC of this book at The Book Rat as part of Misty's Winter Wonderland celebration. Just head over there and check out my guest post for more info and ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!

Audio Book Review: Locked Inside by Nancy Werlin

Marnie's lived a charmed, but lonely life. Her mother has just recently died, leaving her millions of dollars to inherit, but without a family. She's enrolled in a prestigious boarding school, but has no real friends and spends much of her time playing in virtual world online.  There, she meets a boy named "Elf" and he is one of the only people that she has a connection with.

When Marnie is kidnapped her crazed, psychopathic chemistry teacher, she finds out just how alone she is. This teacher, Leah, claims that she, too, is Marnie's mother's daughter. When all seems hopeless, the Elf somehow comes to her and she's no longer alone. But, they're both stuck and don't know how (or if) they're going to escape.

I've read several books by Nancy Werlin at this point. Some are among my favorite reads and others are not. Unfortunately, this book fell in the latter category. I was just not engaged in the book, even though the reader, Emily Durante, did an amazing job.

I did not hate this book and it had many areas of high interest for me. I think that the parts that lost me happened right away. I am not a gamer and have very little understanding of gaming worlds. Once Marnie is kidnapped, I was definitely hooked. But, this part of the book became so bizarre (and not in a good way) and preposterous that I could just not believe it.

And, the book goes on. And it didn't really get better for me. I wish that this were not true, because I have loved some of Werlin's other books (The Killer's Cousin, The Rules of Survival) and wanted to love this one. Alas, that did not happen. But, I will look forward to reading more from this author and from the woman who read this book.

Read By: Emily Durante

Length: 6 hrs. 40 mins. 

**This audio book counts toward my participation in the 2011 Audio Book Challenge from Teresa's Reading Corner and Whisper Stories in My Ear Audio Book Challenge**

Book Review: Clarity by Kim Harrington

Clarity, her mother, and her brother Perry are mediums. They all have their own special talents: Clarity can tell the emotions and thoughts of a person just by holding an object they touched. Her mother can read thoughts. Her brother can commune with the dead.

Together, they live a fairly peaceful life on Cape Cod. Aside from strange looks and few taunts here and there, Clarity's life is pretty normal. That is, until she becomes an integral part of a local police investigation. She is paired with the son of the new detective in town to help solve a grisly murder case--One where a teen girl was shot in her hotel bedroom. And, Clarity's handsome brother is the prime suspect.

Clarity has to work with the police, without leading them to her brother. Because, as sure as she is that he didn't kill the tourist teen, she knows that all of the evidence points to Perry. Desperate, she puts her own life in danger as she digs further and further into this case. And the bodies keep coming. Hers could very well be next.

Wow. This is one read that you won't want to miss in 2011. Anyone who is a fan of the paranormal genre, suspense, a thriller, and a great YA story will want to read this book. It is a quick read, and I did not want to put it down. I finished it in under two days. Sure, I lengthened Silent Sustained Reading by a few minutes every class period. None of my students said anything, so I took that as a reason to keep reading!

This book doesn't come out until March. I read it as part of an ARC tour on Book It Forward Tours, but will definitely buy a copy for my classroom when it's up for sale. I loved the characters, the dialogue, the setting, and the suspense. I can't wait to read more by this debut author!

Book Review: Brain Jack by Brian Falkner

In a not distant future, Sam Wilson is a tech geek who gets in trouble after carrying out a huge hack that shuts down power to much of America. But, this America is not the one we're used to now. Las Vegas is literally crumbled, there are cameras everywhere, and criminals from all over the world are encroaching on the US via sophisticated computer viruses and pyrotechnics.

Because of Sam's talent, he is recruited for the dream job that he never knew existed: to work for the US in the Cyber Defense sector of the Homeland Security Department. He is paid very well, but the stakes are high: He is constantly in physical and mental danger. The physical danger is obvious, but the mental danger does not occur to him until it's too late. The advanced neuro-headset that allows him to control his computer without a keyboard or mouse may also re-wire his brain. His thoughts may no longer be his own, but under the control of the very terrorists he's trying to fight.

I was afraid when I first started reading this book that I would be lost in the technological terms and the computer nerd-speak. Not true. It was not only very readable, but also pretty suspenseful. I definitely read this quickly, even though it's not a read that is typical for me. If you enjoy Cory Doctorow (of Little Brother and For the Win), or liked the movie War Games back in 1983, you might like this book.  It has a bit of a dystopic element to it, but the world-changing events that lead up to the story are not explained in great detail. Overall, this is a great read that left me with lots of thoughts about technology and how it's changing our world.

Book Review: Trash by Andy Mulligan

As a high school English teacher, I am always looking for great whole-class reads. I think that I might have found one with Andy Mulligan's novel Trash. One of the challenges I face in selecting books that I can use with all students in a class is readability because I have a variety of students in front of me and because I read aloud lots and lots. (Not every book is great when read aloud.)

And, I am forever looking for accessible, interesting, and current World Lit. Yes, I know that there are tons of adult books that are great out there that also qualify as World Lit, but it can be difficult to find a whole-class read that is interesting and dynamic and written about a culture other than the US.

Trash will take my students to a place that they have definitely never been.  Lots of my students live in poverty, but not like these kids. This story takes place in an unidentified South American/ Latin American country where the law is lawless and the people suffer under corrupt politicians and police officers. This is a world unlike any other that I've ever read about. Scenes that take place in the dump where the children live and in the prisons are so full of vividly disturbing imagery. There is no way to read this book and not picture the absolute hell that these people live in, sometimes for their entire lives.

But, this book is more than just a sad story about the lost children of the dump. It's a mystery and a political expose and it's told through the eyes of several characters. The adventure that these boys take you on will be wild and intense, but feels real and like a tiny little victory for human kind. It's a suspenseful read. I loved it. Now, I just need to come up with a plan for reading it with my students. That shouldn't be too difficult!

Book Review: The Eternal Ones

Holy smokes.

This is one heck of a crazy roller coaster adventure of a paranormal thriller romance. Every time that I thought I'd figured out what had happened and what was going to happen, some other bit of information or idea would totally disturb what I'd thought.

And I loved every second of it.

Th basic plot is this:  Haven Moore grew up knowing that she was meant to be win a man named Ethan. When she was a little girl, she'd tell her father all about Ethan. About their life in Rome and in New York City. She knew a whole lot about New York City, which was many miles away from her home in Tennessee.

Her father took her seriously. He contacted an agency in New York City, The Ouroboros Society, that dealt with people who had memories of past lives. Shortly thereafter, Haven's father was killed in a car accident that devastated her family forever.

Raised by a controlling and uber-religious grandmother, Haven was not prepared for the sultry memories of the romance she had with Ethan. And, she was also perplexed by the knowledge that she and her former-life lover died in a fire. Her whole previous life is very confusing and disconcerting to her. So, after a series of tragic events, she decides to head to New York City in search of Ethan and the Ourboros Society. Haven wants answers, but what she finds is going to shock her.

I read this book for the Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge (hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings). I definitely felt my heart race and my mind was whirling a million beats per second trying to figure out what was going to happen and what did happen to Haven in this life and in her past one(s). I was totally on edge and am thinking/ hoping/ probably dreaming that this is going to be a series and I'll get to spend more time with these characters. We'll see.

**Courtesy of Good Golly Miss Holly's ARC Tours**

Book Review: Wherever Nina Lies

I read Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten very, very quickly. It was a suspenseful read that built and built so that I had a difficult time putting it down. I found myself getting more and more flustered, just wanting to find out what happened to Nina and what was going to happen to her sister Ellie.

The basic plot of the story is this: Ellie's sister, Nina, disappeared two years ago. Nina was a bit of a free spirit and had been sneaking out of the house for a long time. She was creative and funky and seemed to want to be free of rules and didn't seem too interested about having a little sister as a groupie.

Ellie desperately wants to know what happened to her sister. Ellie's mother seems to have written her eldest daughter off, but Ellie is not willing to let go of her sister. When she stumbles across a clue in the form of a drawing at a thrift shop, Ellie stumbles on a trail that leads her to find out the truth about what happened to her sister. And, the truth is not as free spirited or happy as Ellie had pictured.

For all of the suspense, this was not a super realistic read. I had to suspend my disbelief in more than a few spots, and the plot was a bit unrealistic. There were a lot of convenient coincidences and discoveries, but was this an entertaining read? Absolutely.

Book to Movie: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is not exactly a YA novel, but it is an adult read that could cross over to some teen readers and YA lit lovers. It's a super gritty read and has some serious adult themes, but it is oh-so-good.

So, I'm going to review it here. Though I try to keep this blog filled with YA reads, this movie and this book are so powerful that I wanted to share them. And, I think that a lot of people have either read this novel or are going to see the movie.

As many of you probably already know, the author of this book died shortly after turning in the three manuscripts for this series. All of the books in this series were published posthumuously in 2006. Larsson died of a heart attack in 2004. I guess that this fact made me want to read the novels more because I knew that this is it. The author is dead, so there will be no cheesy extensions of his characters and his work will not get "soft" after receiving all sorts of cash and praise.

Back to the book and the movie. Basically, the plot of this book is that there is a huge conspiracy among a hugely rich family called the Vangers. You should know that the original title of this novel was "Men Who Hate Women", which actually sums up the book quite nicely. Despite the fact that there is a ton of information, including a complete family history of the Vangers, this is a gripping and suspenseful read. Plus, I totally enjoyed learning about Swedish culture, which is very different than American culture and extremely different from the way that I pictured it. (My picture was based on just about nothing; maybe an Oprah show and Swedish Fish. Not much, indeed!)

The movie differs fairly significantly from the book in lots of small details and a few major plot points, but it was fairly well adapted to the screen. I'm sure that making a film script from a novel is challenging and I like to give script writers a lot of room for interpretation, especially when the author of the original text is no longer with us.

This movie was not playing at our local theater, so I had a round-trip drive of about three hours to see it. It was totally worth the time and the gas money. It was hard to watch and I don't recommend that everyone see it--Some parts were extremely violent and disturbing. But, if you loved this novel, I don't think that you'll be disappointed in the movie version. Let me know if you are and we can debate or something.

Please note me trying to look like the title character. I don't pull off angst very well!

Book Review: All Unquiet Things

I've been wanting to read All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab for some time. When I received a grant to purchase some new books for my classroom's free reading shelves, I couldn't help myself! This was one of the first I bought and one of the first (of 18!!) that I read.

And, I wasn't at all disappointed. This is one of the most suspenseful, thriller-type books that I've read in a long time. In fact, I can't even think of a comparison read to tell you how suspenseful and gripping this book actually was. Part of the suspense was created through the back and forth narration of the two main characters, Neily and Audrey.

The basic plot is this: Carly was murdered one year ago. Her uncle was named as her killer. Apparently, Carly inherited money that her uncle felt entitled to and he couldn't let her live knowing that he should have had that share of the inheritance. This motive is believed by police, the prosecution, and the judge. Carly's uncle goes to jail and the rest of Carly's friends and family are free to move on.

Except, Audrey (Carly's cousin and daughter of the supposed killer) isn't buying it. She wants to set out to prove that her father is innocent and that the real killer is still at large. She cannot let go of the evidence she's found, but she needs help. So, Audrey enlists Neily, Carly's ex-boyfriend to help prove her father's innocence and out Carly's actual killer behind bars before someone else dies.

This is a hugely entertaining read. I finished it in one afternoon--My bored husband and lonely dog can attest to the fact that I ignored them for a whole day! And, I'm not trying to get away from them. This read will interest boys and girls alike. I can't wait to see what other titles Anna Jarzab writes!