Avielle of Rhia

Today's Feature:

Avielle of Rhia

by: Dia Calhoun

Rhia is in the midst of terrible times. The threats of the Black Coats have taken hold and the price for that are the lives of the royal family and hundreds of others. And in this all, is a young girl with silver skin and silver hair, Avielle. The only survivor of the royal family, Avielle hides in fear. Shunned and unloved for the entire span of her life, she knows not what it is, love. She only knows the hate and scorn that others bring upon her and that lives within herself, all because of her likeness to her wicked Dredonian great-great grandmother.

Avielle is an amazing child. As you began with her on her journey, Avielle is riddled with hate, upon hate of distain for herself. Now alone, she mourns for the family that she's lost and the fear that has gripped her in its wake. The hate and contempt Avielle holds for herself calls to you with such a Siren song, as she weaves her own brand of magic and battles herself within to uncover the secrets of herself and her aunt.

Truly captivating as it teaches us the reality of bravery and hatred. A world of our own reality disguised in a world of fantasy and characters of fiction, Dia Calhoun shows us all that the ugly side of yourself can sometimes be one of the most beautiful pieces of strength that you can ever hold.

Rating:
**** */2

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The Nature of Jade

Today's Featurette:

The Nature of Jade
by: Deb Caletti


"I don't hold back my tears... Nature is never static, I understand. Change is ever-constant, clouds zipping across a sky. It is dynamic, complicated, tangled, mostly beautiful. A moving forward, something newly gained, means that something is lost, too... But I, like nature itself, am strong and resilient. Over the eons, pieces of me had been brave, and I can be brave too." (287)

Jade DeLuna has Panic Attacks and to survive in them she finds solstace in the things that give her peace, like the elephants at the local zoo. As she watches them through the web cam, she sees a boy in a jacket, a red jacket. She becomes fascinated with him and the boy he carries with him as they visit the zoo; and is drawn to them.

The Nature of Jade shows us the raw emotions of life. The effects of change and the true depths of human emotions. Caletti shows us the world of elephants as a mirror image of some of the deepest emotions, how they can feel what we feel as well. How our emotions all connect, and unwind in a flurry of actions and events.

Caletti once more brings out the raw power of emotion through her writing and pulls you forth to understand the strength in Jade and if you look hard enough, the strength you can find in yourself.

Rating:

*****

[I still... need to find a neat little widget or something to rate!]

;} -the Dizzy says Toodalou!

The Young Adult Literature Contest

So much about not blogging while I figure things out.

I've decided for now to dedicate some bloggin efforts to this challenge posted here: http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/

So let's see what I shall read to fill in that void:

1: Contemporary/Realistic Fiction: The Rules of Survival-- Nancy Werlin
2: Poetry, Drama, Humor: On Pointe-- Lori Ann Grover
3: Sports, Mystery, Supernatural/Paranormal: Ink Exchange-- Melissa Marr
4: Fantasy or Science Fiction: Wintersmith-- Terry Pratchett
5: Historical Fiction: The Luxe-- Anna Godbersen (if I can get a copy after all)
6: Nonfiction: Under the Black Flag-- David Cordingly
7: Classic ''juvenile" fiction: 1984-- George Orwell
8: Graphic Novel: The entire MARS series
9: Audiobook: either Sense and Sensibility-- Jane Austen

For the other 14 I'm thinking of so far reading:

-The Bronx Masquerade-- Nikki Grimes
-All Hallow's Eve-- Vivian van Velde
-Girl Overboard-- Justina Chen Headley
-Into the Wild-- Sarah Durst
-The Garden of Eve-- KL Going
-Firgirl-- Tony Abbott
-The Singer of All Songs-- Kate Constable
-The Perks of Being A Wallflower-- Stephen Chbosky

...and I'll have some more ideas later...

Cha!

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