Reviews written by Alanna Shaw

a HUGE fan of Jane Yolen books. The variety behind the different types of stories she writes always amazes me. When I came across this book while browsing for graphic novels with my son, I snatched it up for myself. This was Jane Yolen so it had to be...

I am NOT a fan of contemporary books, but I love this series! Rose never lets me down. The first book, Confessions of an Angry Girl, blew me away and Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend did not disappoint. What do I love about these books?...

If I had to summarize this book in one word, it would be: Strange. I'm just not certain where on the 'strange' spectrum I would place Indelible. It could be closer to the 'so strange it's amazing' area or the 'this is whacked out strange.' For...

Hmm... well. I wasn't really feeling Awaken. I made the mistake of reading Underworld and Awaken within a few days of one another. (I read Abandon and Underworld a few months apart.) I think that reading these books back to back made me notice some things that were pretty annoying....

This version of Persephone and Hades is moving right along. Underworld was the second book in the Abandon series by Meg Cabot. So far, I've enjoyed the books. The relationship between Pierce and John is interesting. Although Pierce got on my nerves a bit in this...

In a genre that has seen so many new additions lately, it's hard to set yourself apart from all the rest. I mean, really-- how many times can you read about a mermaid and be surprised? Well, in Of Triton, apparently every single time I turn a page! ...

You may be wondering, "What is a Battle Royale exactly?" If you are asking yourself that, then you are asking a great question. A Battle Royale is a mess. In it's simplest form, it's a whole bunch of people duking it out at the same time in some sort of...

The idea behind caged graves really had me intrigued. Add in a hint of something reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials and I was on it for sure! I really thought this would be about witches, but I was wrong. Instead, I discovered an interesting story about the depths one...

Oh, Logan. *Swoon* He is one of my favorites. In fact, I really enjoy this series. I am glad to see that this is told from Logan's perspective. He is such a mystery in the other books. As a bridge book, this helps explain what he is thinking...

This book was amazing for the first two-thirds. I was enraptured. The idea of a girl being unable to feel any emotions really had me curious. Then you add in this supernatural element and I was hooked. The chemistry between Elizabeth and Fear was delicious, even if she couldn't tell...

Oh, Logan. *Swoon* He is one of my favorites. In fact, I really enjoy this series. I am glad to see that this is told from Logan's perspective. He is such a mystery in the other books. As a bridge book, this helps explain what he is thinking...

Hmm... This one left my brain feeling as cloudy as that fog on the cover. I really wasn't sure what I was reading 2/3 of the time. I found myself very confused in places. They felt patchy-- as if there were key parts of the plot that were removed like...

Have you ever had a love-hate relationship with a book that left you so confused you really didn't know what you think about it? Well, that is me with Gorgeous. On the one hand I hated this book with a passion. I almost stopped...

Think of The Bramble as a anti-bullying book that meets Where the Wild Things Are. Cameron wants to play with the older kids, but they won't let him. They pick on him because of his size. What little kid can't relate to that, huh? ...

Another wordless wonder. There is no text in Here I Am, so the reader is left to imagine the story. The illustrations are reminiscent of watercolor drawings; very fluid. I found it hard at times to determine exactly what was happening in each frame/picture, and some pages had a lot...