webelos8’s #CBR5 Review 5 #: Firecracker by Charles R. Vehey

OMG--WHEEEE!!!!. I haven't ever really read much YA literature, but this book looked like a good read on the Kindle Buffet, so I grabbed it.

I read it in a day; I even stayed up late reading it.

It starts off with Aideen Cassidy (aka Cass), sitting in an office waiting for an interview with a group called PsychTeam. See, Aideen is a pyrokinetic, and has set several buildings on fire because of emotions. Whenever she gets mad or upset, she loses control of her powers and stuff just kind of...catches on fire. Or blows up. The last one was a car wash.

She has money troubles, because in this reality, psychics are real, they are acknowledged, and so she is paying penalties for the buildings and car wash she's exploded to the tune of LOTS of her minimum wage being garnished in whatever job she has at the time. In other words, PsychTeam is more or less her last hope.

Meanwhile, we find out a little bit about Voss and Tina, two psychics who belong to PsychTeam but are on the other side of the country (Cass is in Detroit, Voss and Tina are in the Southwestern US) and how they are faring, which is to say, not well. They both have nightmares about what lives out in the dark; Cass is blissfully unaware.

Back in Detroit, the man who interviewed Cass (Li Hung) is more than reluctant to hire her for PsychTeam; he's dead-set against it. However, Miyuki, who runs PsychTeam, is adamant that Li hire Cass, and her reasons become clear as the story progresses..which you should read.

At any rate, Cass is on one hand, your typical aimless 24-year-old, trying to find her way. Add in prophetic dreams, psychic powers like pyrokinetics, telekenesis, clairvoyance; and just plain old evil stuff, and you have a pretty good mix that makes a fast-paced and enjoyable read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I really hope that the author is going to come out with a sequel; it sure seems like he does.

You can now borrow this book for free with Amazon Prime, or purchase it outright; I found it for free on Kindle Buffet. Link: http://www.weberbooks.com/kindle

CBR V Review: "Don't Let Me Go" by Catherine Ryan Hyde

A building in Los Angeles is home to a group of residents: Billy, agoraphobic former Broadway dancer, who hasn't left his apartment in a decade; Rayleen, a manicurist; Ms. Hinman, the elderly lady who lives on the top floor; Mr. Lafferty, general all around unpleasant person; Felipe, a young man who lives by himself; and Grace, the 9-year-old daughter of an addict.

When Billy sees Grace sitting outside on the front stoop for hours at a time, he finally gathers the courage to crawl out, literally, crawl, out to his small porch and ask what she's doing out there, why she doesn't sit inside. She answers "If I sit inside, then no one will know I'm in trouble."

What follows is a story, told in Billy's perspective alternating with Grace's, about how these building residents, strangers, really, come together to help a little girl they don't really know. Through her mother's addictions, relapses, clean periods, and more relapsing, we find out more about Grace, more about Billy, and how she helps him while he's helping her; and what happens when Grace's mother finally sobers up for good (not good). 

It is a great story. I stayed up late reading it, and didn't regret a minute of it.

4 stars!