C-Spot Reviews

Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff

Catherine Lundoff, Incognito, Lethe Press, Supernatural No Responses »

Apr 292012

Silver Moon is the story of Becca Thornton and menopause, wolves, sexy female neighbors, ex-husbands, and divorces and how she deals, or does not deal, with all of them. I have to emphasize that this is the story of Becca and no one else.

Silver Moon is an easy read which has a lot of potential but feels like an introduction, the pilot episode of a series. The premise is completely original, the type of lead character, also, is original for this type of fiction: there is no young, beautiful, glamorous, and commanding female lead. No rich one either. This woman is down-to-earth, struggling with the changes in her life, her feelings for her female neighbor, her divorce and how her ex-husband sees her. And with how she sees herself. She will not always make the right choices and I found her often frustrating in how she faces issues, but she’s always very real and that is refreshing.

Silver Moon by Catherine Lundoff

Define ‘Normal’ by Julie Anne Peters

Brown Books for Young Readers, Julie Anne Peters, Little, Nikki Little, Young Adult No Responses »

Apr 162012

This story is about “two girls–a “punk” and a “priss”–who find themselves facing each other in a peer-counseling program and discover that they have some surprising things in common” (from the blurb).

Antonia is a straight-A student, who spends all her spare time taking care of her younger siblings, as her mother is fighting a losing battle with depression since her husband left. Although she is only 14 years old, Antonia’s responsibilities have made her grow up far too fast. She keeps to herself, has no real friends at school, and really has no one to talk to about her daily troubles. Because of her lack of spare time, she has been forced to drop the after-school clubs she so enjoys in deference to her family’s needs. At one point, she is approached by the school counselor to do ‘peer counseling’ for another student who is experiencing troubles at home as well. Much to Antonia’s dismay, her ‘client’ is Jasmine “Jazz” Luther, a punk with an inflammatory attitude.

The girls get off to a tremendously horrible start, and Antonia almost gives up several times before they can even find anything in common. Eventually they both begin opening up and becoming unlikely friends. This happens at the perfect time, as Antonia’s problems at home begin to escalate, culminating in her mother’s hospitalization. Antonia comes to depend on Jazz’s friendship, and they grow to become each other’s trusted confidant.

This was a quick read, and aside from some painfully jarring attempts at ‘young kids slang,’ I feel that the author did a good job describing the very different worlds that formed these characters. Antonia has many obstacles that I can’t imagine dealing with at the age of 14, but I know there are many out there that are painfully familiar with the theme. For their sake, I am glad this book exists to give them hope. Although the writing and subject matter isn’t as good as some of her other books (See Rage: A Love Story, those looking for a serious angst-ridden abusive emotion-fest), I did enjoy this book and will continue to recommend this author to young and old adults.

Define “Normal” by Julie Anne Peters

Deeper than the Dead by Tami Hoag

Crime, f/m, Mystery, Random House, Tami Hoag 1 Response »

Apr 122012

I’ve seen Tami Hoag’s name on books for years. I never thought much of it; I never wondered what sort of books she wrote or why she was so popular. Then I saw Deeper than the Dead on sale for $5 and decided I’d give it a shot. This is another audio book offering, by the way.

It took me a few chapters to really get engrossed in the story but that wasn’t very long since the chapters are very short. What I discovered is that Ms. Hoag writes some grizzly stuff! I cringed a few times at the descriptions of torture and murder she created. Oh, I suppose I should give a little synopsis of the story…

Some 5th graders stumble over a woman’s body buried in a shallow grave. This is a small, California town with low crime rates so this is a big deal. As the investigation continues, it’s discovered that they may have a serial killer on their hands. The local police, with the unofficial help of an FBI profiler, set out to find who is abducting and killing these young women. Thrown into the mix are the kids who found the body, their teacher, and their parents. The only character I think I could have done without was the over the top, stereotypical gay man who is the best friend of the teacher. Every scene with him made me cringe at the way he was written, and read.

The story takes place in 1985 so much of the modern technology used to solve crimes now wasn’t available at the time. I felt like the author focused on this fact a few times too many by making statements along the lines of “it sure would be nice if we had computers” or “someday soon there’ll be a national DNA database that will hold the DNA of all convicted criminals.” Those statements just made me roll my eyes.

Here’s the bottom line: the mystery kept me guessing (although I did pick the right perp fairly early, she had me second-guessing) and there were several times I was on edge, captured by the action of the book. I have no idea about any of her other books, but if you like a graphic murder mystery, I recommend this one.

Deeper Than the Dead (Oak Knoll) by Tami Hoag