Sunday, June 6, 2010

48HBC: Low Red Moon

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin. Grades 7 and up. Bloomsbury USA, September 2010. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher. 196 pages.

The night Avery witnessed her parents' double-murder is a blur. All she remembers is blood. Lots of blood. And something silver moving swiftly... And then the sheriff was there, taking her away. And now her parents are gone. Try as she might, Avery can't remember any more, even though she knows it's the only chance to catch her parents' killers. And then there's Ben, the strangely alluring new kid with the arresting silver eyes. Avery feels drawn to him, though she doesn't know why. As Avery and Ben get closer, Avery will try to piece together the clues about her parents' death. She'll have to... because whatever did it is still out there...

We have here a paranormal romance that'll please the many fans of that genre, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. It just wasn't different enough from the scores of other YA paranormals that are being published right now. So, for teens clamoring for more Twilight or Sisters Red or Shiver, this'll fit the bill. But it wasn't my cup of tea.

I think maybe I was trying to read it too quickly, though. It's a slim book, just under 200 pages, and I really appreciate that when I think about the hefty fantasy volumes appearing on shelves. But it's not exactly a quick read. Ms. Devlin's writing is beautiful - spare but powerful.

Look for Low Red Moon on shelves September 14.

48-Hour Book Challenge Update? Don't mind if I do... I'm coming up on my deadline (it's now just about 5:30pm and my finishing time is 7:15pm)

Time spent reading: 21.5 hours
Time spent blogging/networking: 5.5 hours
Books completed: 9 (and part of another one)
Pages read: 1903 + 99 pages of The Sweetness of Salt = 2002 pages

Next up is one last nonfiction, I think, and then if I have any time left, I'll keep reading on The Sweetness of Salt, though I don't think I will have time to finish it by 7:15.

This is the home stretch!!!!