Book Review: By Your Side — by Kasie West

Autumn Collins gets locked in the library on a Friday night just before a three day weekend. She keeps thinking that someone will come and rescue her – her friends, the boy she likes, her parents -- but no one does. She soon discovers she is not alone – Dax Miller ducked into the library…

Best Books of 2016

"Did you have a good year?" some people ask. Their judgment of 2016 might be dependent on how much money they made, or if everyone they knew lived, if they became famous, or even who won the election. However, money comes and goes, people around us are born and die, and every few years the leadership of the government changes. There are always…

Greensleeves

Book Review:  Greensleeves, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw   Shannon Lightley has reached the end of high school and wonders what to do.  All her life, she’s been pulled in many directions and has tried without success to fit in.  She’s lived all over Europe with both sets of famous parents, lived with her aunts and…

Longing For Home

Book Review: Longing For Home, by Sarah M. Eden. Katie Macauley has seen poverty, starvation, death, cold, and the cruelty of mankind in her young life, yet she possesses great courage and determination. Carrying the fiddle she stole from her father, Katie arrives in the frontier Wyoming town of Hope Springs with one object in…

Hope Springs

Book Review: Hope Springs, by Sarah M. Eden (Longing for Home, Book #2) Katie Macauley gives up her goal to return to Ireland in order to make a difference in Hope Springs, Wyoming, where she has become a beloved friend and a rallying beacon for the Irish half of the town. As Katie endures the…

Life in Outer Space

The other day I read Melissa Keil's debut novel, Life in Outer Space.   Sam Kinnison, of Melbourne, Australia, may belong to the geek group in high school, but he is okay with that.  He's comfortable with his small circle of friends.  He knows how to keep his head down and stay out of the…

Truth or Dare

Fifteen-year-old Ella Marino is sure that the handsome, popular Alex Bainbridge would never stoop to notice her.  Because of her burn scars, Ella is shy and strives to keep herself invisible in the rich, snobbish Willing High School.  She doesn’t realize how much she has going for her:  she's a very talented artist, she has…

Featuring Kay Lynn Mangum

Today I am excited to spotlight author Kay Lynn Mangum.  Kay writes for a YA audience, but her books are more than the usual teen romance.  They are also insightful looks into the workings of the human heart at all ages.  She has always enjoyed reading and writing stories.  Her three published novels are:  The…

Writing is like Time Travel

I've been writing like mad for the past week, working on my new novel -- a ghost story/ murder mystery that takes place in the same 'Gifted Ones' world as my previous book. When I finally got my head above water last night and took a deep breath, I realized I'd forgotten deadlines, skipped appointments,…

You Are Here

You are Here is a beautiful story about two teens, Emma and Peter, who set out on a road trip to find the grave of Emma's twin brother and end up finding themselves in the process. I loved the style of writing, and the thoughtful way they are portrayed. Both characters were deep and interesting,…