VVMBookBlog

Cobra Strike by Sigmund Brouwer

Cobra Stike is an easy to read sports book. Although the main topic is football, the reader will appreciate other story lines which add suspense. Roy Linden is a quick wide receiver with a horrible quarterback. Life gets easier for Roy when Waymen joins his team. He is a fabulous quarterback who has college scouts visiting his games which allows Roy to get more publicity. The two become a great duo on and off the field. Besides his love for football, Roy also loves his grandmother who is concerned about the death of small animals near her house. This is the other story line which eventually allows the duo to work together off the field.

Boost by Kathy Mackel

Savvy and Callie are sisters and like many sisters are a bit competitive with each other. Although they’re somewhat competitive with each other, they are more competitive in their given sports. Callie is a cheerleader and Savvy is a basketball player. As the title would suggest, this is a book about steroids and sports. It is not, however, the typical book about steroids in sports. When drugs (steroids) are found in Savvy’s locker, many people are asking questions. The answers to these questions are probably not what the reader will expect. Boost takes a new look at steroids and the reasons young athletes use them while engaging the reader in a story about the competitive spirit, friendships, and family.

Cherry Heaven by L. J. Adlington

Cherry Heaven has a Lexile of 830 and proves to be a more difficult read. It is a futuristic story of two worlds (two societies?). People are separated because of their DNA. The prejudice separates these worlds. Luka (Bottle Seal 55) lives a horrible, ghost like life while Kat and Tanka live a better life. These stories mirror each other in events yet are opposite. It’s a complicated novel which comes together at the end. This is a novel for those who appreciate science fiction and a bit of mystery. The theme of intolerance is woven throughout the novel as these girls live their lives near the Hydro factory.

The Postcard by Tony Abbott

Jason is basically forced to go to Florida for his grandmother’s funeral even though he has never met his grandmother. He is sent with a directive from his mother to keep an eye on his father and make sure he doesn’t drink. As soon as he gets to Florida things get quite strange. The funeral if full of odd people, and he even gets strange phone calls. Of course his dad does drink. This conveniently leaves time for Jason to follow clues to a mystery with a girl from his grandmother’s neighborhood.

It may seem a bit strange, but it is a mystery in a mystery. The book, itself, is a mystery, but Jason also follows clues and reads letters (shown in the book) which are a mystery. Reading the letters and following the clues helps Jason solve the mystery of the letters helping with the mystery of the novel.

Crossing to Paradise by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Crossing to Paradise is the companion book to Crossely-Holland’s Arthur Trilogy series. Since I have not read the Arthur Trilogy series, it may explain my opinion that the book was difficult to get started. Once one is engaged in the book (probably the series), it becomes a series of adventures and perhaps romance. The book takes place in the Medieval Crusades which are a series of religious wars. Gatty, the main characters, starts off as a field girl and becomes integral to the story. It is her singing ability that gets her noticed. Although one could read this book alone without first reading the other books in the trilogy, I might start with book one, The Seeing Stone. It is obvious from reading this historical fiction novel that Kevin Crossley- Holland has done immense study about the Crusades and the Middle Ages.