Reviewed by Andrea Jones

This book is the sequel to Twilight, the vampire love stories. Bella loves Edward Cullen, but he breaks her heart when he leaves. Bella turns to the friendship of Jacob Black. The friendship is great, but soon things start to change. This story ends up taking our characters to Italy, and they face the top vampires. This story showed how strong Edward’s and Bella’s love was and how far sould will go for their soulmates. Great book for guys & gals alike!

Find all the Twilight books in the Fiction section under FIC Mey. The fourth book will be released this August!

Reviewed by: Jessica Thor

When a person you look up to does something you had never thought he/she would do, you start to lose trust in him/her. In this book, 15-year-old Hayden has to go through lots of changes during her summer vacation. Her dad’s marrying the “weather pet”, her sister is marrying too, and her friend is changing because of summer camp. Then, her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Summer, comes back into her life and reminds her of all the happy moments in the past. She wants her sister to be with Summer again, but it’s impossible with the wedding so soon. What will she do?

Find all of Sarah Dessen’s books in the Fiction section under FIC Des. 

As a change of pace, I picked up A Northern Light primarily due to its Printz Medal Honor status. I normally don’t give much weight to book awards, but the Printz award has been dead-on with some of its best picks. A Northern Light is set in the Adirondacks in 1906. Mattie is 16 years old and nearing the end of her schooling and is torn between two choices which will determine her life’s path. Does she keep her mother’s dying request and remain on the family farm to help raise her younger sisters? or does she follow her heart’s desire to head north to college and pursue her dream to be a writer? The decision is complicated by a new romance with many questions of its own. Mattie’s personal story is told through flashbacks after becoming involved in a mystery surrounding the death of a young woman who was a guest at the resort where she works. As she tries to make sense of the truth behind the young woman’s death, Mattie must make sense of the truths surrounding her own life. The story is very well told and you truly get a sense of the challenges, struggles, and hard work involved in those who survived off their land. Mattie’s choices also bring to life two very different realities for women during the time. Through Mattie’s eyes we see first hand exactly how hard it was to be a woman: marriages often for convenience sake, difficult childbirths, and the hard work of raising a family while toiling on the farm. But Mattie has another option -to become an independent, educated woman, a role that is not widely viewed as favorable. A great read for those who enjoy historical fiction and also for any teen facing the choices that come with the end of high school and the options that lie beyond. Find it in the fiction section under FIC Don.

Reviewed by: Mrs. Walker

Happy New Year! And welcome to a new year full of great reads. Over break I was able to finally finish Eclipse, book three in the Twilight series. Wonderful! This series just keeps getting even better. I love that in this book there is much more depth given to several characters – Bella’s character finally comes to some honest to goodness sincere revelations on several issues, Edward is no longer the arrogant Edward of book one (and I can finally REALLY see what makes him so special to Bella – besides being gorgeous, rich, immortal and all), and we get to know another character who’s been lurking in the background – Jasper, who has a very interesting story to tell. All those countless conflicts in book two come seamlessly together in a MUST-read battle of epic proportions, one that involves former foes, new foes, the Cullens, and the werewolves. And of course, the Edward-Bella-Jacob triangle continues to develop with some surprises (or maybe you saw it coming?). Not sure how I like the very last few pages and the final decisions that are made (or rather why they’re made). I’d like to hear what others think (use the Comments button above), as I don’t want to give away too much here for those who haven’t read it yet. But read it, you must.

For Twilight fans, there’s great news on two fronts. First, the next book, tentatively titled Breaking Dawn, is scheduled to be released this August. This may or may not be the last book in the series, but there’s talk of a companion book told from Edward’s point of view.

Also, there’s a MOVIE in the works and filming is set to begin in the next few months, so it won’t be in theaters for another couple of years. In the meantime, visit author Stephenie Meyers’ website for talk and pictures of actors she and other readers would recommend to play various characters. The roles of Bella and Edward have been cast with actress Kristin Stewart playing Bella and Robert Pattinson (aka Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter movies) playing Edward…hmm, I think I can see it. The series has developed quite a following. There’s dozens of fan websites and MySpace pages devoted to the book and its characters, so there’s plenty of Twilight content out there to keep you busy until August as you wait for the next book.

Be sure to visit my reviews of the first two Twilight books in the December archives to the right. More vampire fiction reviews coming soon…

Reviewed by Mrs. Walker

This is the second book in the Twilight trilogy (see my Twilight review below). I don’t want to give too much away, especially to those who haven’t yet finished the first book (if you haven’t – what are you waiting for?!?), but in this novel, there is a lot less of Edward & his vampire family and a lot more of Jacob and his, um, “pack”. As Bella and Jacob’s friendship flourishes, Jacob becomes involved in his own mystery and of course, our Bella is right in the middle of it. As for Bella and Edward? It helps to have read or seen Romeo and Juliet here as the R&J theme is heavy in this novel. Think Romeo vs Paris, separated & distraught lovers, crucial MISinformation, warring families. This sequel provides a nice change of pace and an excellent buildup for major battles (there are many to be waged!) in the final book. I’m off to hunt it down in the shelves. Nobody else had better have it out!

Reviewed by: Mrs. Walker

While I dislike scary movies and horror stories, I am always, always up for a good vampire story. Twilight is a very good one. Bella leaves sunny Arizona to live with her father in dark and miserable Forks, Washington. At her first day at her new school, she is fascinated by a table of quiet, pale teens, each of whom is “devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.” She soon falls for Edward, a member of this mysterious family, who we learn (of course!) to be a vampire. It gets a little too long and mushy for a bit, but bear with it as the final chapters bring an unexpected and horrific twist. And the best part…there’s more! Twilight is the first of a trilogy, so hunt down the sequel New Moon (we’ve got it!). All Stephenie Meyer books can be found in the fiction section under FIC Mey. Find more Twilight reviews here.

Readalikes:

If you like Twilight, try sinking your teeth into: The Silver Kiss (FIC Kla), Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles which begin with An Interview with a Vampire (FIC Ric), Bloodline (FIC Car), Peeps (FIC Wes). Still want more? Visit the OPAC station and search for Subject -> Vampires.

Reviewed by: Mrs. Walker