Showcase Saturday

Title ~ Sin

Author ~ Sharron Riddle

Publisher ~ Curiosity Quills

Published ~ 13 January 2014

Genre ~ YA/Fantasy

Pages ~ 274

My Rating ~ 3 bites out of 5

Sin Blackmore is sixteen and having a hard time getting a handle on her temper. Her dad decides she needs to get some psychiatric help so Sin is heading to be locked up in the nuthouse. However, on the way there they encounter some zombies. While her dad is distracted her mom races off with the car and takes Sin to the airport to get her on a plane to Chicago. Sin needs to get to her great-aunts since they are the only ones who can help her with her problem. Because Sin isn’t human and her world is about to be turned upside down.

The plot for this story is inventive, exciting and excellent. The doors between Faerie and the human world are being breached and the Hellhounds have been stolen. All hell is breaking loose, humans are becoming aware that there are other things than themselves out there and Sin is at the middle of it all though she has no idea why. The characters are wonderful, varied and detailed. This story would have easily gotten a 5 out of me if it weren’t for the execution. While the writing itself is pretty good, I think I got whiplash from the mood changes. The characters must be bipolar because their constantly switching moods, even in the same paragraph, were lightning fast and unpredictable. It was massively irritating to have no transition from one mood to the next. I love, love, love the story and I hate that the execution of it disappointed me.  I mean, massively disappointed. *sigh* I can’t say that I wouldn’t pick up another book if this is to be a series because I love the world so much, but I would be wary of the same quick mood changes.

  

Title ~ Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Super Villain

Author ~ Richard Roberts

Publisher ~ Curiosity Quills

Published ~ 15 February 2014

Genre ~ Middle Grade/Sci-Fi

Pages ~ 384

My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble out of 5

Penny Akk is the 13-year-old daughter of two superheroes, The Audit (her mom) and The Brain Auk (her dad). She’s impatiently waiting for her super powers to manifest even though they may not do so for a few years yet. But wonder of wonders, they do pop into existence. Only, Penny has no control over them nor can she make them perform at will. Excited and disappointed that she may still have to wait for them to settle, she continues about her life with her two best friends Claire and Ray. However, when her powers spark more and more within a week, and those powers set off Claire’s and Ray’s it’s only a matter of time before they’re out doing things they shouldn’t really be doing. Now, instead of being firmly on the superhero side they are instead pegged as new super villains. One little lie, some omissions and a few misdirections lead to another and another until they are leading the lives of super villains. How are they going to get out of their situation? But the more important question is, will they want to?

Very well-written with great characters this is a story I think my kids would love. Who wouldn’t want super powers? I wouldn’t mind some especially if they helped me win the lottery once in awhile. The trio of best friends become, by accident, a team of super villains and then they can’t just admit who they are. So they slide further and further into the super villain arena while still trying to be good because they intend to be “converted” to the superhero community when the time is right. However, they’re enjoying their newfound fame a bit too much to give it up. Heck, most adults would screw up like that and these kids are only 13. At least they try to keep from hurting anyone, causing a lot of property damage or outright stealing. And can I say that Penny’s Machine is pretty freakin’ awesome? That thing alone would be a huge boon to the environment, but she invents some other really cool stuff, too. This is a fun read that I think most people would enjoy.