I love when I pick good books to review!

I picked a good book to review for LIBRES.  Here it is if you are interested.  I plan on having it in the school library sometime later this week.

Reviewer’s Name:  Klaudia Janek  

School:  International Academy

School District:  Bloomfield Hills     

Email address:  kjanek@bloomfield.org

Author (Last name first): Morris, Paula

Title of the Book:  Dark Souls

Publisher: Point an imprint of Scholastic               Date of Publication:  2011

ISBN# 978-0-545-25132-7

Price:  $17.99            Grade Level:   J/S       Number of Pages: 291

VOYA Rating: 5Q 5P

Highly Recommended   

Miranda’s best friend, Jenna, dies at the beginning of the story.  Miranda’s brother, Rob, was driving the car.  The story starts with the tragic car wreck and that is when Miranda starts to see ghosts.  Sadness takes over their life and Rob and Miranda’s parents try to help their children move on by taking a family vacation to York, England.  Unfortunately, York is full of ghosts and Miranda gets caught up in a mystery going back hundreds of years.

This story was an enjoyable read.  It is very well written with lots of details.  It was fast paced with a good combination of paranormal, mystery and historical fiction.  It had a little bit of romance and likeable characters.  The description of York and The Shambles seemed to be pretty accurate.  The cover art makes it attractive for paranormal fiction readers.  The author utilized quotes from Milton and Shakespeare, so that the reader will learn poetry without even meaning to.  While this book is an enjoyable read, I don’t really see a place for it in the curriculum.  Possibly if a school has electives for a contemporary fiction class and students can choose any fiction books to read.  I think it could be a good high school (possibly middle school) book club book for girls.  Nothing stood out to me as being controversial.  The characters are average teens who enjoy the company of their parents (most of the time) and have a pretty close sibling relationship. It might also be good for young adults who are dealing with loss. The characters in the book are grieving and in the end they realize that every day is a gift and to live life to the fullest.  A great positive, uplifting book for all young adults.  I would recommend it as a purchase for any school library or public library.  I had a hard time finding published reviews, but I did manage to find one on Novelist and one on Books and Authors.