"17 & Gone" Review

"17 & Gone" was written by Nova Ren Suma,

 and was published on  March 21, 2013.

She is also the author of "The Imaginary Girls", and "Fade Out", and

can be found here at her website.

Wow, such an amazing book! I am so glad that I received this as an ARC for review. "17 & Gone" is my most favorite book of the year. I was blown away as Nova Ren Suma twisted this tale to unbelievable heights. She is an amazing writer, and has a major talent with words. I was very impressed how much she knew about the subject she was writing on, not only on missing girls, but on the mysterious conclusion. You, as the reader, will be so shocked when you come to find out what Nova Ren Suma was able to do with this bone-chilly novel.

"17 & Gone" is about a young girl of 17, who is being haunted by the spirits, or what she thinks may be spirits, of "missing", 17 year old girls. She is put through the test, and pushed to find these girls that have chosen to reach out to her for help. When she feels she is almost to a conclusion, she is then at risk to become one of the "missing" girls.

I cried, cheered, and even squeezed in close to my loved ones as I read each word. If you are one for a little spook, read "17 & Gone", and help spread the word of Nova Ren Suma's next "IT" book.

Thanks for stopping by

"Through Betsy's Looking Glass".

A change of Pace!

Since I'm not blogging consistently this semester, with school, and everything else,

I thought I would share my book reviews until the semester is over at least,

or I may just keep doing them after the semester as well. We will see.

Anyways...

Recently I have become a reviewer for ARC's (advanced reader copies) of teen, and

children's literature. I post my reviews on Goodreads.com, and I thought why not put my

blog to use and post them here as well.

Well my first book I'm gonna share is "The Orphanage of Miracles", by Amy Neftzger,

and is scheduled to be published on May 28, 2013.

She is also a popular writer of non-fiction, and the popular "Bedtime..." stories.

You can find out more about Neftzer on her blog.

"The Orphanage of Miracles" was given to me as an ARC, and I was very glad to read this beautiful fantasy novel for children aged 7-12(??). But then again I'm 24, read it, and loved it. The age thing is overrated. I don't want to give a synopsis, because I feel with too much information I may give something away. So in short, there is a journey, a struggle, friendships, and above all else MIRACLES!!!! I really enjoyed all the magic, and fantastical elements added in, and it made me want to join the world that these children lived in.

But of course I feel I need to give the downfalls (UGH):

2 POV"S: The author chose to switch the POV each chapter which I normally like, and I did start to like, but gradually would wish to hear from one POV, and would quickly try to skim past others. I was favoring one character over another, but the novel wouldn't have worked without the switching of POV's so I understand why she did it. Only a small downfall.

Relating to characters: I had a really had time connecting to the characters. Normally I feel for the characters. I get sad, when they are sad, I'm happy when they are happy. I didn't grasp this in "The Orphanage of Miracles". I really wanted to know them more, and to become more of a friend to them. This was probably the biggest downfall, but it wasn't bad enough for me to not enjoy the story.

What happens next: So many things were left unanswered. I started questioning things as I was reading and would make a note of it, but when the last page was turned I still was left questioning. The final chapter summed up many things, but left so many more unanswered. Why? Maybe the author felt that as the reader, you were to create your own answer. I have trouble doing this.

All in all I really liked this book, and I may check some of her other stories out. I think upper elementary school kids will really enjoy, and appreciate this story.

Thanks for checking out 

"Through Betsy's Looking Glass".