Review - Shattered by Melody Carlson

Shattered

By: Melody Carlson

ISBN: 978-1-60006-949-9

Published by: NavPress

Released on April 15, 2011

208 Pages

Back Cover (description from Amazon):

Everybody does it—sneaks out of the house now and then. It's harmless enough, right? Not this time. Cleo Neilson faces the chilling consequences of her actions. Now she has a secret and can’t tell anyone, and it’s breaking her heart. As Cleo fights through her grief and guilt, she learns about faith in God and forgiveness through him. As teenage girls read Cleo's journey, they too will learn the value of having faith and receiving forgiveness as well as just how dangerous it really is to keep a secret.

[series copy]
Every teenage girl has a secret. And every teenage girl loves hearing someone else’s secret. But some secrets are big enough to detour, derail, or even destroy a young person’s life. Each of Melody Carlson’s Secrets novels will propel readers into a world where promises are broken, life is not fair, and challenges can make or break them, while ultimately helping readers discover that solid faith, loyal friends, and a persistent spirit will see them through.

Review:

I have loved Melody Carlson since I read her Diary of A Teenage Girl Series, and she's one of my favorite authors. She wrote the True Color series, which is another one of my favorites. When my mom asked me if I wanted to review this new book in Melody Carlson's new series, I jumped on the opportunity.

This book is about Cleo and a lie she tells to her mother that completely shatters her from the inside out. I liked the surprising turns that this book took. I thought I had this book pegged when I first started reading it (because I always read the ending first!!) but Melody threw me a couple curve balls during the story.

Shattered was a quick read. I read it in a couple of hours, but throughly enjoyed it. I cared for Cleo and everything she went through. I related with a lot of the feelings she had in the book about her mother, and the guilt she felt for keeping secrets. I think the Secrets series is a great thing that Melody is doing.

Secrets can tear any teenager, or adult, apart. They will eat you from the inside out. It's amazing the way that Melody delves into the mind of Cleo and how she tries to not think about everything that's happening around her. She has a mentality that if she doesn't feel it, it's not really happening. It was very interesting watching all the puzzle pieces fall into place.

This book could have taken a lot of turns, and I appreciate the turns that it took. I wish the book had been longer, maybe more in depth and that her kind-of "break down" had been more intense. But I know she probably had a page limit, and it's probably just that "soap-opera" side of me kicking in. :D 

You will absolutely love this book, it deals with a couple of tough issues in a great way. If you're looking for a fast, but deep and enjoyable read check out Shattered by Melody Carlson. You won't regret it!!

About the Author(taken from here):

Melody Carlson has written around 200 books for teens, women and children. That's a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a "storyteller." Her books range from serious issues like schizophrenia (Finding Alice) to lighter topics like house-flipping (A Mile in My Flip-Flops) but most of the inspiration behind her fiction comes right out of real life. Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, TrueColors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year. She's won a number of awards (including the Rita and Gold Medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog. To find out more about Melody Carlson, visit her website at http://www.melodycarlson.com/

Other series by the author(check out all her books here):

Preview: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

This book...omg...it looks so good! I CANNOT wait for this to come out. Sept 27th is just too far away. I would say that we should fast forward time, so that I could read this book...but my son was born on Sept 25th and I'm totally not ready for him to be a year yet.. :P

BUT this book sounds amazing. I love books where the main characters lose their memory and it's kind of a mystery to figure it out through the book.

There is an awesome contest going on at the author's website right now! You should enter!
Add this book to your TBR list and add this widget to your blog! Cannot wait!!


Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer hits stores everywhere 9.27.11. Pre-order your copy here. Download the widget here. Enter to win an Advanced Reader’s Copy here.

Review - Predator by Terri Blackstock

Predator

By: Terri Blackstock

ISBN: 978-0-310-25066-1

Published By: Zondervan

Released on May 24, 2010

336 Pages

Back Cover (Description from Amazon):

Bestselling author Terri Blackstock presents another stand-alone novel, Predator. The murder of Krista Carmichael's fourteen-year-old sister by an online predator has shaken her faith and made her question God's justice and protection. Desperate to find the killer, she creates an online persona to bait the predator. But when the stalker turns his sights on her, will Krista be able to control the outcome? Ryan Adkins started the social network GrapeVyne in his college dorm and has grown it into a billion-dollar corporation. But he never expected it to become a stalking ground for online Predators. One of them lives in his town and has killed two girls and attacked a third. When Ryan meets Krista, the murders become more than a news story to him, and everything is on the line. Joining forces, he and Krista set out to stop the killer. But when hunters pursue a hunter, the tables can easily turn. Only God can protect them now.

Review:

This is one of the best books I've read in awhile. Terri Blackstock grips you from the beginning and leaves you completely satisfied in the end. A fourteen year old girl is murdered essentially because of what is posted on her "Grapevyne" page. Grapevyne in this novel is a mix of Facebook and Twitter, people are constantly posting "Thought Bubbles", snapping pictures of themselves, and sharing their day-to-day activities with their followers. This book makes you think REALLY hard about what you post online. 


The murderer in this book knows everything about these girls because of their Grapevyne page. They take pictures of themselves in places, post about what their doing and what they're going to be wearing. One scene in this book, in particular, makes your hair stand on end. He finds a girl at the airport, and knows exactly who she is, what she's wearing and how to get her into his car, all because he's a follower on her Grapevyne page. 


This book makes me think twice about what to post on my own Facebook page,  I can have all the privacy settings in the world but there are people out there who can get into my Facebook page if they really want to. That's scary. I think that this book should be required to read in schools. Teenagers and children should be educated about what is safe to post on the internet. Personal information in the wrong hands can lead to devastating things.

Ignorance is not bliss. If you don't know what you're doing on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Blogger, Tumblr, LiveJournal, or any site like that, you can get into trouble. Nowadays, people are not getting jobs because of what's posted on their Facebook page. Your Facebook page will make you or break you. It represents you. 


This book is amazing, and it's one of those books that makes people think. I HIGHLY recommend this book, and I think you should pass it along to everyone you know. I enjoyed this book immensely, and you will to! 

About the Author (taken from here):

Terri Blackstock hasn’t always written for the Lord. Just over a decade ago she was an award-winning secular novelist writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, and Silhouette. With thirty-two titles published and 3.5 million books in print, she found that she was miserable. The compromises she had made in her career had taken their toll on her spiritual life, and she yearned to renew her relationship with Christ.

After much soul-searching and wrestling with God, she finally told the Lord that she would never write another thing that didn’t glorify Him. Thinking she might never be published again, she began planning ways to supplement her income, while she worked on her first idea for a Christian novel.

Because she enjoyed reading suspense novels, she tried weaving a faith message into a fast-paced page-turner with ordinary people in jeopardy. When Christian publishers expressed great interest, she realized that a secondary job would not be necessary. God was paving the way for her to enter the Christian publishing world.

Since that time, she’s sold 2 million Christian novels. She has over thirty Christian titles, many of which have been number one best-sellers. Her latest book, True Light, reached number one on the Top 50 of all Christian books the first full month it was in stores. Night Light was the winner of the 2007 Retailer’s Choice Award for General Fiction. Both books are part of her popular Restoration Series which began with Last Light. Other reader favorites include her Cape Refuge Series, her Newpointe 911 Series, her SunCoast Chronicles Series and her “Seasons” books written with co-author Beverly LaHaye.

Terri has appeared on national television programs such as “The 700 Club” and “Home Life,” and has been a guest on numerous radio programs across the country. The story of her personal journey appears in books such as Touched By the Savior by Mike Yorkey, True Stories of Answered Prayer by Mike Nappa, Faces of Faith by John Hanna, and I Saw Him In Your Eyes by Ace Collins.

Other books by the author:

Book Trailer: