Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 by Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim

Series: Twilight: The Graphic Novel

Author: Stephenie Meyer and Young Kim
Page Count: 224
Published: March 16th, 2010

Publisher: Yen Press

  5 Stars ★★★★★

This is the first book in a series of graphic novels portraying the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The story of Twilight is widely known: Bella moves to Forks and is drawn to Edward. She becomes suspicious of him and investigates, only to find that he matches the description of a vampire. Their love blooms after Edward admits his true identity, yet they face obstacles which may cost them their lives.

Young Kim, the illustrator, did a fantastic job of bringing Twilight to life. Her drawings were detailed and very close to how I imagined the characters and situations while I was reading the original novel. Through gorgeous black and white illustrations, I found myself reliving one of my favourite vampire love stories.

This book stays quite true to the original story. There appeared to be a few minor differences, but nothing that affected the quality of this fantastic, artistic retelling.

I recommend this to Twilight fans and to those who enjoy graphic novels. If you're fond of beautiful illustrations and compelling romances, this book is for you.

Find Twilight: The Graphic Novel on Goodreads

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Series: The Ghost and the Goth

Author: Stacey Kade
Page Count: 281
Published: June 29th, 2010

Publisher: Hyperion Books

  4 Stars ★★★★

Alona Dare is one of the most popular girls in school, excited to graduate at the end of the year. But then she gets hit by a bus and dies. Her soul doesn't leave Earth yet, though,  and the only living person who can see her is Will Killian.

Everyone thinks that Will is crazy. He can see and speak with spirits, but nobody believes him. To make it worse, the school principal is constantly picking on him and he hates his doctor. When Alona dies, they form an unlikely friendship, and together they face a malevolent entity with unknown motives.

I had been wanting to get my hands on this for a while when I noticed that it went on sale. I immediately rushed to purchase it, and I finally got to reading it several months later. I wasn't too sure what to expect from this book, as it isn't very similar to the other, more serious paranormal stories that I usually read.

I think the first thing I need to mention are the characters. As I started reading, Alona Dare seemed very much an incarnation of the high school cheerleader stereotype. She seemed careless and vain, even cold at times. As the story moved along, I felt like the author was trying to show me the deeper, more serious parts of Alona's life and experiences. The author seemed to want to make Alona grow as a person throughout the book, to change for the better. While this did occur, I felt like it wasn't nearly enough to redeem her character. Sure, she may have changed her views when it came to Will, eventually falling in love with the boy she previously referred to as a 'freak', but I felt like overall her development as a person was superficial. Did I absolutely loathe her character? No, she did have some likeable qualities. But I found myself unable to connect with her.

I found Will to be the best character in this book. Unlike Alona, I was able to connect with him and I cared about his life and story. I didn't find him at all superficial or stereotypical. He was a very complicated character with a troubled past and an uncertain future. He was what really kept me interested in the story. 

The story itself was a humorous paranormal romance, with elements of mystery. As I mentioned, I usually read more serious paranormal stories, so this was a change for me. I appreciated the author's use of humor, however there were times when I felt the humor to be too stereotypical, or that it was in scenes where I felt it didn't make sense to include humor. I'd like to note that not EVERY scene contains humor, but sometimes I felt like one scene needed it more than another. 

I recommend this book to YA readers fond of humor mixed with romance. If you'd like a light ghost story, this novel is for you.

Find The Ghost and the Goth on Goodreads

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid by Jan Harold Brunvand

Series: N/A

Author: Jan Harold Brunvand

Page Count: 256
Published: October 15th, 2004

Publisher:W.W Norton & Company

5 Stars ★★★★★

This book is a compilation of urban legends both new and old. It contains multiple versions of many urban legends and compares older stories with their modern incarnations. 

From the classic scary story 'Bloody Mary' to chain emails warning of the newest dangers, this book is sure to have something for everyone. 

I found myself revisiting many of the scary stories I had shared with my friends as a child as I read this book, and I appreciated that the author included the sources of the stories and that he compared and contrasted different retellings. 

Amongst these older and more familiar urban legends were newer ones, stories that I hadn't heard before. I was disturbed by many of them; rats disguised as dogs, venomous snakes hiding inside bed sheets and children's clothing. I enjoy being unnerved and as a result this book was perfect for me.

Deliciously disturbing and perfectly eerie, this compilation of urban legends is not for the faint of heart or the easily upset. I'd like to mention that it contains stories which include emotional deaths and child neglect. As these are themes which some may be sensitive to I feel it is an important courtesy to give potential readers a heads up

I recommend this book to those who love creepy stories and urban legends, and to those interested in learning about different versions of popular and sinister stories. If you love horror-esque tales, this is definitely for you.

Find Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid on Goodreads

Beautiful Cover(s) of the Day!

The Dark Divine series by Bree Despain has dark, simple covers with a pale model and a burst of colour, provided by the mysterious and beautiful scarf-like fabric wrapped around the model. They are sure to catch your eye when displayed in the bookstore; unique, appealing and intriguing, these covers are simple yet elegant.

The blurb:
 "Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul."

Find the Dark Divine on Goodreads

Salem's Vengeance by Aaron Galvin

Series: Vengeance

Author: Aaron Galvin
Page Count: 252
Published: July 25th, 2014

Publisher: Aames & Abernathy 

  4 Stars ★★★★

I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley.

In this historical fiction novel, Sarah lives with her sister, mother, and father. She discovers a group of people who dance to hypnotic music in the moonlight and who wish for her and her friends to join them. She receives a mysterious journal and reads about Thomas Putnam's experiences in Salem during the Salem Witch Trials.

When her friend Ruth becomes afflicted after coming into contact with a mysterious powder, things take a deadly turn. What appeared to be an innocent yet unusual past time turns out to be the work of a vengeful woman who goes by the name of Hecate. She leads a large group of witches out for revenge, and she herself seeks revenge against Sarah's own father.

With the help of Bishop and the mysterious Priest, she hopes to defeat these bloodthirsty witches once and for all. But will she, and those around her, live to tell the tale?

I haven't read a book quite like this one before. Historical fiction isn't a genre I read often, but when I saw this on Netgalley I thought I'd give it a try.

First of all, I was impressed with the writing style. Most of my experiences with historical fiction have included rather dry writing, but the author of Salem's Vengeance surprised me with detailed descriptions that were perfectly balanced. They weren't too extensive but provided enough information to form a clear picture of the settings and specifics of the situations which arose.

I also appreciated that I was able to connect with Sarah, the main character and narrator. I found myself understanding her decisions and feelings, and I was rooting for her survival throughout the whole book. As for Bishop, I found him an asset to the story as he brought humor to the more serious events and was an overall entertaining character. Priest was a juxtaposition of Bishop: unlike Bishop, Priest was quiet and reserved, and much more secretive. I thought this was a great way to balance the humor and mystery in the story as depending on which character was the focus, the mood shifted.

This novel also contained a lot of violence. There were attacks, sacrifices, murders, ambushes, and more. This didn't bother me personally, however I feel it is important to mention this because some readers may be offended by such content. So if you are easily upset when it comes to violence, you may want to steer clear of this book.

In conclusion, it was overall an interesting read with lots of action and a likeable main character and narrator.

I recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, those who like stories with action and violence, and to readers interested in books based on the superstitions surrounding the time of The Salem Witch Trials.

Find Salem's Vengeance on Goodreads