Conjuring Raine

Title: Lassiter, Maya.  Conjuring Raine.  Waking Dreams Press, 2010.  Print.

Overview:  Raine has known Joshua all of her life.  He shows up for an hour, a day, and then disappears for months and sometimes years.  For most of Raine's life Joshua has managed to remain elusive and mysterious.  Then, one night, Raine gets drawn into what Joshua does for a living and draws the attention of people who want her hurt.  Now Joshua must protect her while keeping his distance to keep her safe from the demon that's been taking over his body since the day he became a vampire.  The only problem is that Raine doesn't want distance, she wants to get to know this man that she's known all her life without really knowing him.

Critical Analysis:  I read this book as soon as I finished Toby Streams The Universe.  It wasn't until I posted the last two reviews that I realized I'd never posted this one.  While the story of Conjuring Raine is completely different from Toby Streams The Universe it's just as interesting.  The book goes back and forth from Raine's point of view to Joshua's, not only dealing with the present but with their pasts as well.  Through flashbacks you learn not only about Raine and Joshua's past encounters but also who Joshua was before he was a vampire and how he became one.  Another interesting aspect to the story is Joshua's demon, a thing that manifests itself in black veins that grow to cover more and more of Joshua's body as it takes over more control.  The demon speaks to Raine while Joshua sleeps, striking up a bargain with her.  Joshua's past and Raine's present become intertwined in twists and turns that are an intricate as they are surprising.  There's also a great cast of more minor characters including Joshua's best friend and a ruling body of vampires that see over all vampire affairs.

Book Recommendations With Similar Themes:

1. Sunshine by Robin McKinley.  The Voodoo Wars are over and Rae "Sunshine" Seddon thinks she'll be safe visiting her family's abandoned lakeside cabin, a place she wants to go to clear her head.  Unfortunately, that's where a group of vampires find and abduct her to use as bait.  Chained in a room with a starved vampire named Constantine she befriends him and makes an escape but their journey is far from over.  As she fights the vampires who abducted both her and Constantine she learns about her own magical abilities, abilities her grandmother tried to teach her when she was young.

The Nightmarys

Title: Poblocki, Dan.  The Nightmarys.  New York: Random House, 2010.  Print.

Overview: When Timothy July and Abigail Tremens are partnered for a history project they don't realize that their once separate lives are going to become intertwined by waking nightmares.  Both haunted by different horrors - the ghosts of two girls who made Abigail's world a living hell, and a dead and rotted vision of Timothy's brother, Ben - the two come together to find out just what's going on and why they're being haunted.  With the help of Abigail's grandmother they work to find out the truth and put an end to the horror.

Critical Analysis:  From the opening scene this is a book filled with horror and scary things going on.  The style the author uses to describe the details makes the nightmares come to life. It's easy to see exactly what Timothy, Abigail, and the others are seeing.  As the book progresses it becomes harder for the characters to discern the nightmare from reality and keep the two separate.  They must use tricks to keep the nightmares from overtaking them and the fear from paralyzing them.  The book is very much about taking a person's deepest fears and using them against that person.  With elements of magic, the book definitely delivers on the scare factor.  Unlike a lot of horror books it wraps up nicely at the end which I found satisfying.

Book Recommendations With Similar Themes:

1. Rotters by Daniel Kraus.  Joey Crouch lived a life like any other American teenager until an accident kills his mother and he's sent to live with a father he knows next to nothing about.  A father who disappears for days at a time, coming back with strange things he locks in a safe in his room.  His father's profession is anything but legal, most definitely macabre...and Joey's about to learn the family business.

A Monster Calls

Title: Ness, Patrick.  A Monster Calls.  Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2011.  Print.

Overview: Conor awakes one night to find a monster outside his window.  The monster has a strange request: it wants to tell Conor three stories in exchange for a fourth told by Conor himself.  But the fourth story must contain "the truth", something Conor isn't ready to admit to himself much less to this monster.

Critical Analysis: From the synopsis on the back of the book the book seems like a straightforward suspense.  There's a monster, though not the one Conor dreams about on a nightly basis.  So, of course, this will be about scary monsters and filled with horror and suspense, right?  Wrong.  This story isn't a horror novel, but more one of growing and learning  Through the stories the monster tells Conor learns more about his world and about himself as his own world crumbles and his mother battles with cancer.  It's just as much about family as it is about the monster that came calling.

Book Recommendations With Similar Themes:

1. The Giver by Lois Lowry.  Jonas lives in a world where students are given a life assignment once they come of age.  Jonas' life assignment is to become the receiver of memories.  He begins a relationship with The Giver, the town's holder of memories who transfers them to Jonas showing Jonas things he never knew existed.  Through these memories and his time with The Giver he realizes that his perfect world has many dark secrets.