REVIEW: When Love Comes to Town by Tom Lennon

Title: When Love Comes to Town

Author: Tom Lennon

Genre: Young Adult, Gay & Lesbian

Format: Hardcover, 192 pages

Published: March 1st 2013 by Albert Whitman Teen 

ISBN: 0807589160 (ISBN13: 9780807589168)

Synopsis:

The year is 1990, and in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland, Neil Byrne plays rugby, keeps up with the in-crowd at his school, and is just a regular guy. A guy who's gay. It's a secret he keeps from the wider world as he explores the city at night and struggles to figure out how to reveal his real self--and to whom.

First published in Ireland in 1993 and compared to The Catcher in the Rye by critics, Tom Lennon's When Loves Comes to Town is told with honesty, humor, and originality. 

My Thoughts:

When Love Comes to Town was my very first young adult MM romance book. I have to admit that this book was much better than I thought it was going to be. The author did a great job of capturing Neil's horrible feelings of insecurity on being "different" and his fear of his homosexuality being discovered.

Once I started it, I couldn’t stop. It kept me up into the wee hours or the morning. I loved this book! I've read the whole thing, all 192 pages, in just a few sittings.  Though it was a quick read, I must admit that it was not lacking in depth and development like most do.

I feel that I had to give this book five out of five stars for several reasons. First because it was so fantastically well written, because of its beautiful, touching, and heart breaking plot, and lastly because it’s been a while since I've read something that touched me this deeply.

I was just blown away by the many messages offered in this story. This is such an awesome book. If you haven’t read it…you should go grab a copy and read it as soon as possible!

My Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal!

This book was so good I would buy it without looking at the price tag.

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REVIEW: Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

Title: Being Henry David

Author: Cal Armistead

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Format: Hardcover, 270 pages

Published: Published March 1st 2013 by Albert Whitman Teen

ISBN: 080750615X (ISBN13: 9780807506158)

  

About the Author:

Cal has been a writer since age 9, when she submitted her first book, The Poor Macaroni Named Joany to a publisher. Sadly, this literary gem did not make it to print. But Cal continued pursuing her lifelong passion, and wrote copiously for radio, newspapers and magazines (Cal has been published in The Chicago Tribune, Shape Magazine, Body & Soul Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Chicken Soup for Every Mom’s Soul and others). Although it took years for Cal to try her hand again at fiction writing, her first young adult novel (Being Henry David) will be published by Albert Whitman & Co. on March 1, 2013. Cal, who holds an MFA in creative writing from the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine, works at an independent book store, is a voice-over actress, sings semi-professionally, and lives in a Boston suburb with her amazing husband and a dog named Layla.

Official Site ~ http://www.calarmistead.com

Goodreads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/CalArmistead

Twitter ~ https://twitter.com/CalArmistead

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old "Hank" has found himself at Penn Station in New York City with no memory of anything--who he is, where he came from, why he's running away. His only possession is a worn copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. And so he becomes Henry David--or "Hank"--and takes first to the streets, and then to the only destination he can think of--Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.

Cal Armistead's remarkable debut novel is about a teen in search of himself. Hank begins to piece together recollections from his past. The only way Hank can discover his present is to face up to the realities of his grievous memories. He must come to terms with the tragedy of his past, to stop running, and to find his way home. 

My Thoughts:

I am not entirely sure what I was anticipating when I started this book but... WOW! The moment I finished reading this book, I realized that I have just finished what has to be one of the most amazing reading experiences I have ever had in 2013.

The writing is just so wonderful! The setting is very well defined and easy to visualize. The plot too is very well organized and unique. There are times that I would get a bit impatient to find out what was going to happen next, and so I would start speeding up, but then I'd have to go back and read it again, because I didn't want to miss any of Armisteads’s beautiful writing. The characters, on the other hand, were also vividly described and well thought. I loved every single one of them!

Overall, the book has all of the ingredients needed to create a great tale. Teenagers who are into realistic fiction will surely enjoy Being Henry David!

My Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal!

This book was so good I would buy it without looking at the price tag.

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REVIEW: Hollow Earth by John and Carole E. Barrowman

Title: Hollow Earth

Author: John and Carole E. Barrowman

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Adventure

Format: Paperback, 336 pages

Published: Published February 2nd 2012 by Buster Books

ISBN: 1907151648 (ISBN13: 9781907151644)

About the Authors:

John Barrowman is a presenter, a singer, a dancer and an actor, best known for playing Captain Jack in the television series Doctor Who and Torchwood.

Carole E. Barrowman teaches English and creative writing at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, She also writes newspapers and regularly appears on television to talk about books. Carole and her brother have already written two books together, but Hollow Earth is their first novel for children.

Hollow Earth Series Official Web Site ~ http://www.hollow-earth.co.uk/

Carole's Official Web Site ~ http://www.carolebarrowman.com/

Carole's Goodreads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/CBarrowman

Carole's Twitter ~ https://twitter.com/BarrowmanCrime

John's Official Web Site ~ http://www.johnbarrowman.com

John's Goodreads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/843234.John_Barrowman

John's Twitter ~ https://twitter.com/Team_Barrowman

Synopsis:

Lots of twins have a special connection - being able to finish each other's sentences; sensing what the other is thinking; perhaps even knowing when the other is in trouble or in pain - but for 12-year-old twins, Matt and Emily Calder, the connection is beyond special. Together, the twins have extraordinary powers. They are able to bring art to life, or enter paintings at will. Their abilities are sought by villains trying to access the terrors of Hollow Earth - a place where all the demons, devils and creatures ever imagined lie trapped for eternity. The twins flee with their mother to the security of an island, off the west coast of Scotland, where their grandfather has certain protective powers of his own. But too much is at stake, and the twins aren't safe there either. The villains will stop at nothing to find Hollow Earth and harness the powers within...

My Thoughts:

I decided to purchase this mainly because of its beautiful cover and the blurb really caught my attention. It sounded exciting, which is something I usually like.  It’s about the 12-year-old twins  Matt and Emily Calder who happens to be Animares, people who can bring art to life and enter paintings at will.

This was an absolute delight to read. John and Carole did a really great job in this book keeping it very descriptive as well as extremely fast paced, which without a doubt is a hard challenge for many writers. 

Right from the beginning chapter, I knew that this was something special, and the further the book went on, the more that point was proved. I was taken in the story from the very first page to the very last one. 336 pages may seem a lot, but they whisk past and you can't stop reading! 

My Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal!

This book was so good I would buy it without looking at the price tag.

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