DYING TO KNOW YOU by Aidan Chambers-REVIEW

Karl is dyslexic so he hates to write. He also doesn't know how to express himself very well. When Karl's girlfriend Fiorella asks him to answer some questions she has by writing out his answers Karl turns to Fiorella's favorite author for help.

Not only is this author helping Karl with searching out his inner most feelings, but Karl is helping the author by once again giving him a reason and will to write after his wife's death.

Karl and the author develop a friendship that manages to withstand many ups and downs as they both explore who they are. They relate with each other in that the author can see that he and Karl have many of the same character qualities. Karl is brooding and moody and insecure, the author can see many of the same qualities in himself. He helps Karl deal with those emotions throughout the book.

The story was written from the authors point of view.We never know what the authors name is. I enjoyed how much he helped Karl discover himself. He helped Karl through depression and other emotions by offering wise advice or just listening when Karl had something to say. In return Karl gave the author a reason to start writing again after the death of his wife. There were a few sexual situations, but nothing graphic. There was also a bit of language. I think this was a story of healing both for Karl and for the author that befriended him.

UNWHOLLY by Neal Shusterman - REVIEW

KARIN'S REVIEW:


UNWHOLLY picks up where UNWIND left off. Shusterman does a great job catching up the reader so you don’t feel lost. However, I still recommend reading UNWIND before diving into this book. Since it doesn’t come out until August you have time to read it now. This review is intentional vague.  I don’t want to spoil anything for people who haven’t read either book.

After a terrible war between the Pro-Life people and the Pro-Choice people, an agreement was made to add The Bill of Life to the Constitution. Basically, life is protected from conception until the age of 13. Once a child reaches 13 a parent then has the right to Unwind their child.  Unwinding is a process where the child officially remains alive – but in a “divided state.” Every part of the body is harvested at a Harvest Camp and preserved and later used for people that need replacement parts. For instance, if someone is suffering from heart failure – instead of have bypass surgery you just get a new heart that once belonged to a child that was Unwound. A parent or legal guardian can sign the unwinding order until the child reaches 18 (now 17 after an amendment because of developments in UNWIND). Chilling, huh? Well, just wait!!

UNWHOLLY follows the characters we connected with in the first book, Lev, Connor, and Risa. They face horrible and dangerous situations at every turn. Shusterman provides us with several new characters – some you grow to like and others you grow to hate. Together, they are forced to make ethical decisions that will determine whether they live or die (a.k.a. live in a divided state).
This book brings up questions about what it means to be alive. How far would you go to survive? Would you take a new arm, new spine, new eye knowing they came from a kid between the ages of 13 and 17? A kid that became too much trouble for the parents? A kid that didn’t want to “die” anymore than you do? It really makes you think.

Absolutely fantastic! That is all I can say. If you liked UNWIND then you’ll love UNWHOLLY.  If you haven’t read UNWIND yet, get on it NOW!

Karin's rating:

JULIE'S REVIEW:


 Unwholly is the sequel to Unwind. It has been a long time waiting for this sequel. It did not disappoint!

Unwinding is still taking place. Children between the ages of 13-17 can be unwound if their parents sign the paperwork. The age used to be to 18, but has now changed to 17 which has caused a shortage of available parts. This has given rise to black market pirates.

Characters from Unwind are also in Unwholly. Connor, Risa and Lev are still fighting the battle for the right to live. Each one has a different battle that puts them in constant peril.

There are also new characters in Unwholly. One a horrifying creation that has taken unwinding to a whole new level.

I was not disappointed in the excitement of the story. The introduction of new characters kept the story from becoming stale. I'm looking forward to the last book in the trilogy and can only hope that it doesn't take another 4 years to come out.

Julie's rating:

              

                                                                         

UNWHOLLY comes out August 28th 2012. Karin received her copy at TXLA in April.

WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler-REVIEW

Min Green is devastated. She and her boyfriend, Ed Slaterton, broke up. For two months, Min and Ed were practically inseparable. She introduced him to classic movies and he introduced her to basketball. Neither one of them particularly liked the new activities, but they went in order to please the other.

As with most new relationships, friends are neglected, compromises are made, and love is declared.

Everything is great…until it isn’t.

WHY WE BROKE UP consists of Min explaining how her and Ed’s relationship goes wrong. Min kept many mementos from their time together and has decided to give them back. She composes a letter to Ed explaining the importance of each memento and the reasons they broke up. Her final act will be to put the letter in the box with the mementos and dump them on his porch.

Daniel Handler does a FAN-TAS-TIC job of portraying Min as a broken hearted girl. Her devastation comes through perfectly. Anyone who has had their heart broken will be able to identify with Min.

I listened to this on audio and was completely happy with the performance of the narrator, but with the audio I missed out on the unique illustrations by Maira Kalman. Maira Kalman provides illustrations for the mementos throughout the book.

WHALE TALK by Chris Crutcher-REVIEW

T. J. Jones is a smart young man.  He lives with his wonderfully supportive adoptive parents, has the perfect girlfriend, and plays some mean basketball. It has taken him a long time to get to a place in his life where he can say he is happy though. It still takes a lot of self-control to suppress his anger because unfortunately, he lives in a town where people aren’t exactly open-minded. As part African-American he faces daily racism from some of the Good Ol’ Boys in town. He particularly has trouble with the star football player.

When T.J. is approached by one of his teachers to join the swim team he is confused. Cutter High School doesn’t have a swim team. It turns out the teacher wants him to start the team and help him recruit other swimmers. T.J. decides to do it, if nothing else, to spite the school athletics group. T.J. is determined to get his swim team to perform well enough during the season so they can all qualify for letter jackets. The group of misfits he convinces to join the team turn out to need a lot more than a letter jacket – they need friendship.

Chris Crutcher packs in so many emotions in this story that you can’t help but be sucked into it. He uses his wealth of experience to weave together a complex story of love and the true meaning of family. I listened to WHALE TALK on audio and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The narrator did a fantastic job. This is one of the classics of young adult literature.  If you haven’t read it yet, now is the time.

I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga - REVIEWS and CONVERSATION

Julie and I read I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga about the same time.  I was totally surprised that we both rated it the same. We texted back and forth as soon as I was done.  Here is how it went:

Of course, it is totally up to you guys to make your own decision about the book.  It is due out April 3rd, 2012. Here are our reviews:


Jazz Dent is the son of one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States. Billy Dent proudly killed over one hundred young women and told his son about each and every one of them. He made Jazz responsible for keeping the trophies from the murders in order. Jazz knows how to go about gaining the confidence of a potential victim, ways to kill and torture, and how to avoid being caught. It seems that every time he talks to someone those things keeps running through his mind. Jazz has to consciously think about acting “normal.” 

Jazz relies on his best friend Howie (a hemophiliac) and his strong-willed girlfriend, Connie, to keep him grounded. They know everything about him – all the gory details about his life with Billy and how he struggles to fit in with society. 

When dead bodies start turning up in town, it doesn’t take long for Jazz to realize another serial killer is at work. He does whatever he can to try and piece together the clues to prevent any other murders from taking place. When Jazz makes a startling discovery about the murders, it threatens to turn his world upside down all over again. Will he be able to catch the killer? 

I HUNT KILLERS is a wonderful concept. It is definitely a book that will fly off the shelves since a lot of people crave dark, macabre, suspenseful stories. I liked it and I liked Jazz, Connie, and especially Howie. Howie provides some lightness to a very dark story. People who love Dexter will definitely see the similarities. 

So, why did I only give it 3 Glasses? Well, there were several factors that led to the rating. One was the over use of the term “Dear Old Dad.” Over and over again Jazz referred to Billy in those terms. It grated on my nerves very early in the book. Another is the level of goriness. I know this is a young adult novel, but I thought it should have been more suspenseful and more gory. If the book is going to compare itself to Dexter, have an “in your face” title, and revolve around serial killers then it should scare the pants off of readers. Finally, several years ago I read another book where a teen was racing against time to save a girl from a serial killer and it was soooo suspenseful and I have that to compare it to. If you haven’t read it you should totally check it out – ACCELERATION by Graham McNamee.

"What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?"

That's the teaser on the back of this book. Of course it had me hooked!

Jazz is no ordinary teen, although he knows how to act like one. But when you have been raised by the world's most horrific serial killer it is hard to be "normal". Especially when your dad has taught you everything he knows in order to groom you as his successor. 

"Dear Old Dad" is now behind bars. Jazz really is trying to lead a normal life now. He has a girlfriend, he's in the school play. But Jazz' life is anything but normal. He lives with his crazy gramma, trying to keep the child welfare people from sending him to a foster home, his best friend Howie is a hemophiliac, and he lives in fear of becoming just like his father.

When a woman is found dead in a field with 3 fingers missing Jazz knows right away that another serial killer is on the loose. Unfortunately he can't get the law enforcement to agree with him before another murder is committed. Jazz joins forces with the police to catch the murderer. Jazz knows how a serial killer thinks and he wants to prove to himself that he is not like "Dear Old Dad". But it's a fine line he is walking because he understands the cravings to see a person's last breath seep out of them.

This is one of those books where I wish I had half hearts to give out. I would have given this a three and a half rating. I vacillated between really liking it and "it was just okay". I really liked the suspense of the story and the not knowing who the killer was until almost the very end. I disliked that this is a YA book. The theme was pretty horrific and sometimes goes into some gory details about what the killer did to his victims. Surprisingly the author kept the language fairly tame. I was offended by his use of Jesus, and g** d*** but other than that there really wasn't a lot of language, maybe because the theme was harsh enough? 

I Hunt Killers is published by Little Brown and will be out for sale in April 2012- I received my ARC copy at ALA in January.

POP by Aury Wallington-REVIEW

Marit can't hold onto a boyfriend. Every time the relationship gets physical she freaks out and either scares the boy away or breaks up with him herself. She is afraid of having sex for the first time and obsesses about it. Besides the "no boyfriend" problem on the first day of school, she also has to deal with the fact that her schedule is terrible. I mean, who should have second period lunch? Eating lunch at 9:00 a.m. should definitely be against the law! So far the only bright spots in her day are her constant friends Jamie and Caroline. Basically inseparable, these three spend their day mocking the "followers" and "joiners" of the school.

Marit has accepted a senior year without a boyfriend until a new boy walks into her German class and steals her heart. She just knows that Noah will be her boyfriend for the year. She makes a bold move and invites him to a school bonfire. Noah accepts and Marit is hopeful it will be a successful date. Once at the bonfire, the couple realizes they can't talk with all the noise and finds a quiet spot to be alone. Eventually they begin to kiss and Marit's nerves cause her to do something to embarrass herself and ends up running away from the situation instead of talking to Noah about it.

Determined to fix her problem, she goes to her older sister for advice. Hilly tells Marit she needs to find someone she already knows and feels comfortable with to have sex with for the first time. Once she has done "it," she won't be so nervous about it. The perfect candidate is Jamie; her loyal friend of eight years. At first Jamie doesn't think it is a very good idea, but soon changes his mind.

Aury Wallington writes a realistic story that involves typical high school drama while at the same time creating characters that are likable. Even though sex is the main focus of Marit's life, she remains a character that the readers will root for in the end. The author also buries a lesson in the pages of the story; one that we can never hear enough. Friendship is more important than anything else. POP! is an enjoyable read, even though the ending is a little too convenient and quickly resolved.

SHUT OUT by Kody Keplinger-REVIEW

Things are out of control at Hamilton High. A rivalry that started over ten years ago is escalating. What may have started as name calling and taunting has turned into something is getting people hurt.

Lissa is sick of it and she is going to do something about it.

For too long the football and soccer teams have been fighting. The girlfriends of the players are the ones paying the price. They are the ones getting stood up because of a their boyfriends getting hurt during a fight; they are the ones being left alone in the car at “make out hill” when their boyfriends run off to chase someone who egged their car; they are the ones with the plan.

Lissa proposes a sex strike and slowly, but surely the other girls agree. One by one they place their hands on a recent issue of Cosmo and take the pledge.

"I hearby swear to abstain from all forms of sexual activity. This includes but is not limited to anything involving body parts below the belt. That’s either party’s belt. Oh, and second case is outlawed, too. Nothing, um, under the shirt…I’ll stand my ground, even in the toughest of times, and will resist temptation until the rivalry is put to an end."

The girls are sure it will be a quick victory, but as the weeks drag by and the boys don’t give in, tension run high.

Are the boys going to learn anything by being subjected to this punishment? Even a better question might be, what are the girls going to learn from dishing the punishment out?

SHUT OUT is another great look into the mind of a mostly typical teenage girl. While not as endearing as Bianca from THE DUFF, Lissa does pull at your heart strings. Keplinger has a knack for painting realistic pictures of high school and the many characters that walk the halls of the thousands of buildings across the U.S. I can’t wait to see what she come up with next.

 

FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater-REVIEW

Sam no longer turns into a wolf, but now Grace does. While Sam waits for warmer weather and Grace's return a girls body is found in the woods. This sets in motion Isabel's father's attempts to get the ban on hunting wolves lifted.

Since the girl was found near the Boundary Woods and close to Sam's house he is instantly a suspect. Especially since Grace too has seemed to have disappeared.

With the looming threat of the wolves being hunted and Grace being out there with them Sam and Cole must find a place to move the wolves.

In order to save the lives of the wolves and Grace, Sam must do something he hoped he would never have to do again.

Although Forever is not always filled with action the ability of Maggie Stiefvater to keep a person engaged in the characters provides a fascinating page-turner. She has a way of explaining the thoughts and actions of the characters that makes you feel their emotional trauma right along with them. The love between Sam and Grace tugs at your heart. When you read about Sam's struggle to get his thoughts out into words you feel empathy for him. The relationship between Cole and Isabel was filled with tension. And the drama of the wolves' peril kept me holding my breath wondering which ones would survive. Great job Maggie Stiefvater! I will miss Sam and Grace, but I do have one complaint: I wish there were a different ending!

 

NOTE: You need to read the first two books in this series, SHIVER AND LINGER, before you read FOREVER in order to understand the story.

The tables have turned. Now, Sam is the one waiting. Even though waiting for Grace to return to human form is torture, it is nothing to the agony he feels when he thinks about the danger she is in while running loose in the woods. Mr. Culpeper has wanted the wolves in Mercy Falls dead ever since his son was killed by them and after a girl is found torn apart in the woods, Culpeper has just the ammunition he needs to get his wish.

While Grace is Sam's priority, he also has the added responsibility of saving Beck and all the other wolves. Sam and Grace attempt to come up with a plan while Cole St. Clair, ex-lead singer of NARKOTIKA and newest pack member, takes dangerous measures to find a cure for the disease infecting his pseudo family. With the help of Isabel Culpeper and a very unlikely ally, the wolves finally have some hope.

FOREVER has it all - heart-warming romance, angry teen rebellion, and dry, witty humor. It made me laugh, cry, and stress in all the right amounts. FOREVER is the final book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. It provides the reader a satisfying ending while still leaving enough room for us to wonder about the future of the pack.

Maggie Stiefvater has given readers a wonderful story in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. If you haven't read them yet, run run run to the store and get them today.

 A Note From Julie:
I loved The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. I wish it were more than a trilogy! While I loved the series, there were some adult themes that may not be suitable for all ages.  There was some language in the series, but it wasn't excessive. Sam and Grace do have sex. While not overly descriptive the reader does know what is going on.

I'LL BE THERE by Holly Goldberg Sloan-REVIEW

The day that Emily is mortified in front of her whole church by singing a horrible rendition of "I'll Be There", is the day that Sam walks into her life.

Sam and his brother Riddle were taken away from their mother 10 years earlier by their father. Sam's last year of school was when he was in second grade. They have never lived in the same place for long because their father is a thief and when things get too hot for him he takes off.

Sam likes to visit churches. Even though he is not religious he likes to go. The morning that Emily sings he knows that it isn't good, but it is like she is singing to him. Telling him that she will be there for him. 

Sam has always been the caretaker for Riddle. When introduced to Emily's family her mother instantly sees that something is not right with Riddle. Being a nurse she is able to have him checked out and finds that he has asthma. For the first time in years Riddle is able to breathe. Being cared for for the first time in their lives the boys become attached to Emily and her family.

The boys' father finds out that they have been making friends and it is once again time for them to leave a city. But this time the voices are telling him that he would be better off without the boys. Driving them to a remote mountain wilderness sets off a string of harrowing experiences for both boys. Will they be able to survive and make it back to Emily and her family?

I was engaged in the characters. I felt the story was very believable. The problem I had with it was the insertion of irrelevant material. Such as the thoughts of a bear in the mountain. Or the wrapping up the story with little back stories of everyone that the boys had come in contact with. The book was almost 400 pages long and I thought that it drug in spots. By the time I got about 3/4 of the way through I was skimming pages just to hurry it up. For the most part though the story was good and like I said, the characters were engaging.

SEQUINS, SECRETS, AND SILVER LININGS by Sophia Bennett-REVIEW

  

Nonie loves fashion. She has her own style that sometimes stumps her friends and family. At the beginning of the book you get the impression that she and her mother don't have much of a relationship, but towards the end it seems they develop a mutual respect for one another. Nonie seems closest to her older brother Harry.

Jenny had a small part in a recent hit movie. At first every time she shows up on the red carpet everything she wears looks totally disastrous on her. Instead of looking like a young starlet she looks miserable. She also has a crush on the boy who played her brother in the film. He is the new drool-worthy hot young hunk that all the girls are screaming about.

Edie is the humanitarian of the group. But for someone who has empathy for the downtrodden she can be brutally honest.

While shopping one day they meet Crow. She has set up a booth to sell her homemade clothing. They take her under their wings, and provide a place for her to create her clothing. They learn that she is from Uganda sent to live with her Aunt to get her away from her village and away from the rebels that kidnap children and make them into slaves or soldiers.

When approached to do a fashion show the girls set out to help Crow reach her dream of creating fabulous clothing. They also have the goal of raising awareness of what is going on in Uganda and to provide help for families to find their abducted children.

I really enjoyed this story. I enjoyed getting to know each girls' character. It was light-hearted yet there was compassion in each of the girls. The next book in the trilogy comes out in Spring 2012 entitled: Beads, Boys, and Bangles.

ROT & RUIN AND DUST & DECAY by Jonathan Maberry-REVIEW

Tom and Benny Imura survived First Night when the world as they knew it turned upside down. Where the dead became reanimated. They lost their parents that night.


Mountainside is their home now. A town surrounded by fences to keep the zombies away. Benny is now 14 and has to choose a job in order to keep receiving his full rations. Tom earns a living as a bounty hunter. He goes out into the Rot & Ruin to find people's family members and put them to death permanently.

Benny loves to hang out with Charlie Pink-Eye and his hoodlum friend The Motorcity Hammer. He loves to hear their stories of how they kill zoms out in the Rot & Ruin. In Benny's mind compared to Charlie and Hammer his brother Tom is a coward.

As time has finally run out for Benny to find a job he agrees to go with Tom out into the Ruin to see what the "family business" is really like. What he learns is that Tom doesn't just randomly kill zombies. He teaches Benny that each zombie used to be a REAL person, a member of a family and deserves that respect. Tom "quiets" the zombies he is sent out to find. He reads them a letter from their family member and he then quiets them so they are no longer roaming around as zombies. It gives closure to the family member. This confuses Benny as he has a strong hate for the zombies and after all of Charlie's and Hammer's stories he has never thought of them as being real people.

Benny finds that not all bounty hunters are as compassionate as his brother Tom. In fact he hears about a place that some of the bounty hunters take innocent children to and make them fight zombies. When Benny happens to get a collector card of the "Lost Girl" one day he finds that this is a "mythical" girl that is supposedly out in the Ruin who may know some of the dealings of the bounty hunters.

As a storm rages over the city and the fence fails Benny finds out to what lengths these bounty hunters will go to protect their interest in the gaming park. Benny and Tom go out into the Ruin to rescue Benny's friend Nix and to find the Lost Girl who may be able to show them where the games take place. What happens while out in the Ruin is horrible and will change their lives forever.

Oh my goodness! Why have I waited so long to read this book? It was soooo good! Really though I'm glad I waited because I have my copy of Rot & Ruin and the sequel Dust & Decay autographed by Jonathan Maberry. Dust & Decay comes out in August but I snagged an ARC copy at the TLA conference I went to. Yay me! Anyway, this was such a good book. I had to close it several times because I couldn't take the suspense, but then I would have to open it and read on to find out what happens! Even though this is a zombie book I was more interested in the human relationships that were going on. Excellent read!

Benny just turned fifteen. In his world that means he must find a job in order to continue receiving his rations. The problem is, Benny can’t find a job he likes. He and his best friend, Chong, waited too long to get one and all the easy jobs are gone. What’s left aren’t very appealing. He’s tried being a locksmith, a fence tester, a fence technician, a carpet coat salesman, a pit thrower, a crank generator repairman, a spotter, a bottler, and an erosion artist. It seems like the only option left is to join the family business.


Benny’s brother, Tom, is one of the most respected and successful zombie killers. The problem is, Benny doesn’t know why people think Tom’s that great. He’s never seen Tom do anything especially exciting or impressive – in fact, he’s actually turned away from violence, which makes Benny think Tom’s a coward. Tom is nothing like the totally cool Zombie Killers like Charlie Pink-Eye and Motor City Hammer. Benny has never intended to do what Tom does. He’s always said no every time Tom asked him to become his apprentice. But, his lack of success in any other job has left him no choice.

Benny learns a lot while out in the Rot & Ruin with Tom. He learns about his own past, what it is that Tom really does, and what separates man from monster. Benny’s outlook on life completely changes as he begins to realize there might be more to life than just his small town of Mountainside.

ROT & RUIN is a perfect choice for readers who enjoyed THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. Both books take place in a small town of survivors surrounded by fences that keep the zombies out. ROT & RUIN is set in a time when people still remember what happened when the zombies started rising, so the reader gets some first-hand accounts of First Night (the night the world changed). ROT & RUIN also gives us some of the blood and gore that we sometimes want in a zombie novel.

Jonathan Maberry did an excellent job developing the characters and creating an interesting setting. The reader can get lost in Benny’s world. ROT & RUIN gets the Stay Awake Award because I couldn’t put it down. In fact, I stayed up to 3:30 A.M. one night to finish. This story caused me to cringe, gasp, chuckle, and cry. Absolutely amazing!

For 7 months Tom has been training Benny, Lilah, Nix, and Chong how to survive in the Rot & Ruin. Preparing them for their trek east in search of the jet they all saw fly over them months before. Nix cannot wait to leave all of her memories behind. Lilah cannot wait to feel freedom outside of the fences. Chong is only going for an overnight camping trip to further his training and of course to be with Lilah for a little while longer.


Once in the Rot & Ruin though things do not go the way they planned. Things seem to be happening in the Ruin that indicate that Gameland is once again up and running. While checking out a dead body they encounter Preacher Jack. A man whose title doesn't match his evil countenance.

When they all become separated things go from bad to worse. Not only struggling against the living dead, they are also having to contend with an evilness in humans that they never thought possible.

Once again Jonathan Mayberry has kept me on the edge of my seat! There were times in the story that I would get so stressed out that I had to set the book down for a while! This is an ARC copy that I received at TXLA in April. Jonathan Mayberry was kind enough to autograph it for me. It comes out in stores in August of 2011. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Benny made it back from the Rot & Ruin only to start training with his brother, Tom, to leave again. After seeing the airplane fly over, Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Tom have been anxious to find out where it was going. Could there be civilization beyond the Rot & Ruin?


Every day Tom trains Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong. He prepares them to fight the Zoms they are sure to encounter on their long trek across the dangerous country. Everyone has different feeling about leaving home. Benny isn’t sure he wants to leave FOREVER, but is willing to in order to be with Nix. Nix, who has nothing left is desperate to leave behind all the bad memories. Lilah just wants to feel freedom and live outside the fences again. Tom decides he has to leave since his countless pleas to the town leader’s to build up defenses have fallen on deaf ears. Chong, without the permission of his parents, is staying behind.

Tom plans an overnight trip to help the kids practice living beyond the fences. Chong is given permission to accompany his friends for this short adventure which gives him more time to spend with Lilah.

The overnight outing doesn’t go as planned and the kids are separated from each other and Tom. Evidence points to the possibility that Gameland is up and running again and even worse, could Charlie Pink Eye still be alive?

DUST & DECAY is filled with danger and excitement, love and hatred. It keeps the reader engaged from the first page. The horrors the characters live through is heartbreaking. This is a zombie book that will bring you to tears.


Julie agrees to meet Karin halfway on these two books. While I totally enjoyed both of these books and think that they are very appropriate for most readers there are some disturbing images in them.