Five is Book One of the Maor Series, a young adult contemporary fantasy written by Caroline Greyling. Shaylee is your typical 16-year-old who has plenty of hopes and dreams. She’s into dancing, has written a story that’s been published in a magazine, and she loves...

The Bird Room is a collection of short horror and dark fantasy stories written by Chad Hofmann. The title story is a macabre piece in which a pet parrot carries, along with his ability to speak, an unearthly and evil manifestation of the past. Some...

Vanished From Dust by Shea Norwood is a paranormal adventure that follows the exploits of Eric and Kyle, two eighth-graders in the little town of Dust, Texas. Eric is an average boy, but has recently been bullied in school after a few episodes of strange...

Here Be Dragons by Hannah Steenbock is a collection of eight short stories about magic, mythical creatures and sorcery. From a traveling wizard that fixes toys, to a wizard who loses and searches for his magic deck of cards. From a young girl that tries...

Prism is a collection of short stories that span multiple locations, times and worlds. Roland Allnach has a great talent for creating worlds, building an atmosphere and painting for the reader a believable setting for each story. His power of description is considerable. The style...

When dime store operator Dottie Arnez saves a man from a burning plane, her boring life on the brink of a mid-life crisis is filled with excitement. Verna Clay’s new book, Crashed in Oasis, is the story of professional treasure hunter Collin on his latest...

From the Magical Mind of Mindy Munson is a wonderful story written by Nikki Bennett. The Munson kids went to live with Aunt Julie when their parents died. They have problems adjusting to their tragic loss, and their aunt isn’t cool anymore. Aunt Julie buys...

Thought provoking tales are told in the short story collection, The After, by L.L. Sanders. The collection tells three very different stories, all relating to the mysteries of the afterlife. In "The After," we meet the mature and thoughtful Wilshire, as he guides his young...

First Kiss by Barbara Alfaro is a warm and majestic breeze. There is a message of love lost and love gained that was present from the light-hearted "Carnival Music" to the fervor of "First Kiss." There are such beautiful metaphors in the poem "Heart," making...

School of Deaths by Christopher Mannino has a plot that is quite different from your typical YA novel. Suzie, a teenage girl, suddenly finds herself in the world of deaths where she is supposed to be trained to become a death herself. Deaths are the...

Breath of the Titans: Little Black Stormcloud by Riley A. Westbrook and Sara L. Westbrook is a story that centers around a half elf, half dragon boy who just turned 16, named Lovonian. The story begins with Lov and his uncle Nord taking their annual...

“Oooh,” I thought as delicious chills ran down my spine. “A book about vampire-zombies…what could be better?” That was my thinking as I picked up The Journal of Vincent du Maurier, the short novel by author K.P. Ambroziak. And my initial thinking certainly wasn’t off-base....

When Everyone Shines But You by Kelly Martin is not just another self-help book lining the shelf, telling you to think positive or obey the laws of attraction to get anything you want. This book shows you how being human is not only okay, but...

Lucy London is a bona fide genius, having been at university since the ripe old age of thirteen. Unfortunately, Lucy’s genius status means she doesn’t have the best people skills, which is a shame since she’s currently working in the peer counseling clinic in an...

Despite a bit of a slow start, Leighton's Summer by KC Finn soon drew me in. This is the story of a young man with an unusual gift on the cusp of his sixteenth birthday. It is 1945, after the end of World War II....

Logan and Hailey were excited to get a postcard from their grandma and grandpa while they were in Africa. This postcard was an addition to Logan's collection of postcards, and Hailey had her own collection of beautiful dolls. On this special postcard was a picture...

Sons of the Sphinx by Cheryl Carpinello is a historical, time travel fantasy suitable for young adult and pre-teen readers. Rosa is not your ordinary tenth-grader; she hears the voices of dead people and can communicate with them. Her grandmother had the same gift, but...

Goddess In The Silence by Robert Ahanes is a beautiful book full of the most delightful poetry. The author offers some diverse and interesting pieces. Greek mythology is an obvious influence in several of the poems and for me, personally, they were by far my...

Moon Jump (The Boy Who Bounced to the Moon) is a nice fantasy by Aviva Gittle and Mark Megson. Timmy enjoys learning about the moon. His teacher, Mr. Garcia, tells him that the moon contains a great treasure. If Timmy finds it, Mr. Garcia will...

Mr. Green wants to go on strike from his job in Paint Town as the painter of the leaves, bushes, and all things green. He feels he is the most important color and should be ruler of the land and not the primary colors who...