A fresh take on teen adventure

A Shimmer of Angels
Lisa M. Basso
Month9Books, January 2013

An intriguing new series with a nice change in the supernatural focus: angels. And a whole range of angel types with those wings. There is some romance, some murder-mystery, and some compelling relationships among the characters.

Rayna sees wings ...  attached to living beings. And she is unsure just how sane that makes her. 

Basso has started a great series with enough complexity that there may be a sustainable story line across more than one or two books. Rayna's loyalty to friends, her love for her sister (sometimes straining the reader's credulity) and the dynamic complex of interaction with the angels she is inexplicably able to see, all work together very well to make an engaging read.

The plot line is not as cohesive as I would like: some twists in the plot and setting seem to lack enough foreshadowing to make the line credible. But this should tighten up as the series builds -- definitely worth waiting for.

What's different about this book? 

No one believes Rayna actually sees angels -- even the angels themselves, at first. So this provokes an interesting situation that Basso uses skillfully. I wanted to know the context for Rayna's ability, and I wanted to see where the author would go with that kernel of an idea.  I liked where the book took me, and I'm looking forward to the coming titles in the "Angel Sight" series. Fresh and intriguing.

What will I do now that I've read this? 

My young adult readers will be equally intrigued, I think, so I'll be purchasing this for my high school library network and talking the title to my readers and colleagues. Nice touch in this fresh story line.

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Poignant and Powerful: Calling Me Home

Calling Me Home: A Novel
by Julie Kibler
(February 12, 2013) St. Martin's Press

An elegant, compelling story of an independent teenager who views her world through objective glasses -- and forms a deep and abiding relationship with an admirable young man who looks different from her.

The story line is accessible, and it's kept moving forward by the juxtaposition of two separate stories in alternating chapters. The 1930's tale of Isabelle and her Robert is told against the story of present-day Dorrie, a single mother who carefully balances the line between black and white to make her way, and to guide her children, in the Dallas-area setting.

The predominant point of view of Isabelle, an adolescent, will engage teen readers as well as adults -- who will understand Dorrie's caution and concerns about life and parenting.

For those who have read The Help? this book has a similar message --life shouldn't be seen, and people shouldn't be judged, based on skin color or other externals. But this book is better.

What's different about this book 

Shorter, more concise, blended with a modern day setting where we see that racism isn't just something our parents and grandparents dealt with, Calling Me Home wraps its story around the reader and stays long beyond the turning of the last page. Vivid characterization, accessible and engagingly told, the reader develops an empathy for multiple characters, each of whom tug on the heart strings.

What I'll do now that I've read the book 

This title deserves all the exposure it can be given, and it will definitely appear in my high school libraries for students who may read it for the history or the romance but who will gain a new perspective on equality and equity.

Adults will find the book equally engaging. And it is wholesome, yet realistic, and universal in its message. 

Great read: a lot of pathos, deep emotions, and a satisfying, if bittersweet, conclusion.

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