Six Moon Summer by S.M. Reine

Release Date: April 29, 2011
Publisher: Self-Pubbed
Pages: 198
Series: Seasons of the Moon #1
Review Source: eBook for review from author

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Rylie's been bitten.

She's changing.

And now she has three months to find a cure before becoming a werewolf... forever.

Rylie's parents force her to attend summer camp, but she's just as miserable at the girls' camp as she was at home-- there's nothing vegetarian for her to eat at the mess hall, she hates hiking and archery, and the other campers taunt Rylie mercilessly. One night, the bullying goes too far, and Rylie runs away. She doesn't get far. It's a full moon, and she isn't alone in the forest.

She wakes up unharmed in her cabin the next morning with no memory of what happened. The only sign something has changed are the healed scars on her chest, her increasingly keen senses, and her sudden craving for raw, bloody meat.

A boy from the other camp seems to know what's happening to her, but Rylie isn't sure if she can trust herself with Seth. He's way too cute and he knows way too much.

Rylie soon learns that she only has until the end of summer before she becomes just like the monster that attacked her: a man-eating werewolf hungry for human flesh. Unless she can find a cure, she's going to transforming at the end of the summer and lose her life to the hunger.

My Thoughts:
‘Six Moon Summer’ isn’t necessarily the type of book I’d usually read. I’ve been reading more paranormals lately and definitely enjoying them, but I’m not a big fan of werewolf stories. That being said, I had a good time reading this one. I thought the book started off a bit rough. Rylie begins the book as quite the annoying character. She whines and feels bad for herself instead of trying to make the best of her situation. Likewise the mean girls at camp seemed a bit unrealistic. They seemed too old to be so cruel for no reason at all. Rylie’s love interest, Seth, is an interesting character. He’s very mysterious and, I thought, untrustworthy, so it was interesting to see how Rylie relied on him. If I were her I definitely would’ve been demanding some answers!

As I read on, I found myself enjoying the book more and more. S.M. Reine is very good at descriptive writing, especially with Rylie’s changes on each moon and in between. It’s a very easy to read book: a page-turner despite a lack of dialogue, which I think takes a great deal of talent. I definitely enjoyed the 2nd half of the book more as answers were being given and the action was at an all-time high. I was also pleased that Rylie became a tougher character who showed some initiative and some backbone.

I would have liked some more closure at the end, maybe a final scene between Rylie and Seth. However I can understand why the author left the book as it is, because it sets up things nicely for a Book 2 without leaving readers with a total cliffhanger. There were a few weaker spots in the book (Rylie back home with her friend and what happened to her father), but overall I definitely enjoyed reading ‘Six Moon Summer’ and I think if you’re a reader of werewolf stories you would like it even more than I did.

Rating:
[3/5]

Find Six Moon Summer by S.M. Reine on Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, CreateSpace, & Smashwords.

Author Derek Clendening on Libraries

When Derek approached me to feature his novel The Vampire Way on Book Labyrinth I asked if he had anything to say about libraries. It turned that that he actually works in a library, and his novel involves the library as well! Here, Derek talks about freedom to read, boundary pushing, and the influence of libraries on him.

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Libraries by Derek Clendening
Jo Godwin said “A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.” I agree. But I feel the same way about fiction. Even the light-hearted fiction we read for fun can stand to push a few boundaries. In fact, I relish that type of book as long as boundaries aren’t pushed just for shock value.

My young adult novel The Vampire Way pushes several boundaries. Would someone be offended? There’s always the possibility but I hope readers and their parents will see the method behind my madness. The novel deals with some serious issues for teens and does so in a fairly frank manner. I would like to think I trust a young reader’s intelligence in being able to handle those issues while enjoying fiction.

What place does such a book have in a library? I hope it’s a fairly secure one. As a library professional by day, I believe in the freedom to read and that very few topics are off limits. And again, I draw the same parallel with fiction. Topics considered to be taboo by some should be open for exploration by curious and inquisitive minds. That’s how I feel, at least.

As you can probably tell, the library has influenced my life significantly. Having lived in the same town my whole life, I have numerous childhood memories in the very library that has been my workplace since high school. To me, the library is a central place and should be significant for all members of a community. Good libraries strive to keep up with the curve and know how to remain relevant in an increasingly electronic society.

In The Vampire Way, two central characters work as pages at the Fort Erie Public Library, just as I had as a teenager. The library influences them just as it did me. But it’s more than that. It can serve as an anchor for a smaller community and I hope that it helps to create a believable small town atmosphere in the novel.

As for boundary-pushing, I hope it’s okay to consider real life trials and tragedies such as death, teen alcoholism, teen suicide, teen pregnancy and eating disorders in young people. As a man influenced by his library, and who supports the freedom to read, I hope that the topics explored in The Vampire Way will enlighten young readers about the reality of these things in their lives.

***

Thanks so much for this post, Derek. I absolutely agree with you about the freedom to read!


You can read more about Derek and his books on his blog.

'The Vampire Way' is available for sale in paperback and through Kindle or Smashwords.

Possession by Elana Johnson

Release Date: June 7, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 416
Series: n/a
Review Source: S & S GalleyGrab

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

My Thoughts:
I wasn’t sure what to think when I started this book. Some people have loved it, and others, well, they have not. I went in hoping I would be part of the crowd who loved it (obviously! you never want to dislike a book), but unfortunately this was not the book for me. I found it completely confusing. There were so many scenarios and so many random paranormal-y abilities, I just didn’t know what to think. It also felt like pieces of technology were thrown into the story when they were convenient instead of being described ahead of time and then used in appropriate places.

One huge point of contention I have with ‘Possession’ is the extremely weak “heroine”, Violet. Vi flails around a lot, letting other people control her. It feels like she is a possession of the literally controlling “love interest”, Jag. I’m not sure what redeeming qualities Jag has except for his really cool hair (seriously. Hair is described a lot in this book). He continually lets Vi down and gets pissy at her when she doesn’t do or say what he wants, which is annoying enough to begin with, but then he also keeps secrets from her the whole time, seeing no problem with that. Violet, to her credit, gets mad about this over and over again, but then she just lets him manipulate her again and again, forgiving him each time because they “love” each other. Even though she starts off the book supposedly loving this other guy, Zenn. Sigh.

This book is a very strange combination of ‘Matched’, the ‘Uglies’ books, and ‘The Giver’, except without the engaging characters and interesting plot line. I wasn’t the biggest fan of ‘Matched’, but at least it made sense. This book throws you into the action straightaway and gives little to no explanations for anything that’s going on in the world. The writing was generally good, except I hated how Vi continually started her thoughts with the word ‘Yeah’ -- as in, ‘Yeah, I wasn’t doing that’ or ‘Yeah, I loved him.’ Yeah, it got a bit annoying. And then there was Jag calling Violet ‘babe’ all the time which just totally made me cringe with its cheesyness.

Meh. I just definitely wasn’t feeling this one. I made it to the end because I wanted to see why people loved it so much, but otherwise I definitely would have stopped reading it about 120 pages in. Despite so much action happening I was really bored almost the whole time, PLUS after all that reading (400-ish pages) there is a mega cliffhanger! I can’t believe the story just stops. Usually a cliffhanger would entice readers to go on the next book, but with this one? It’s okay, really. If I feel the need to find out what happens next I’ll read some spoilery reviews on Goodreads once Book 2 comes out.

So. As with any negative review I feel obliged to say that there are definitely people who loved the stuffing out of this book, so maybe you’ll like it too. Check out the link to Goodreads below to read some of the positive reviews.

ETA: I just read that 'Possession' is supposed to be a standalone. I... I don't even know what to do with that information. This makes me like the book even less, knowing there's absolutely no resolution at all for the characters.

Rating:
[2/5]

Find Possession by Elana Johnson on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.ca