Rain of the Ghosts is the first in Greg Weisman’s series about an adventurous young girl, Rain Cacique, who discovers she has a mystery to solve, a mission to complete and, oh, yes, the ability to see ghosts.

Welcome to the Prospero Keys (or as the locals call them: the Ghost Keys), a beautiful chain of tropical islands on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. Rain Cacique is water-skiing with her two best friends Charlie and Miranda when Rain sees her father waiting for her at the dock. Sebastian Bohique, her maternal grandfather, has passed away. He was the only person who ever made Rain feel special. The only one who believed she could do something important with her life. The only thing she has left to remember him by is the armband he used to wear: two gold snakes intertwined, clasping each other’s tails in their mouths. Only the armband . . . and the gift it brings: Rain can see dead people. Starting with the Dark Man: a ghost determined to reveal the Ghost Keys’ hidden world of mystery and mysticism, intrigue and adventure.

Paperback, 240 pages

Published December 3rd 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin

ISBN

1250029791 (ISBN13: 9781250029799)

Written for younger readers, Rain of Ghosts tells a story of family, friends, and history. Rain and her family live on a tropical island in the Prospero Keys where her family runs a lodge for vacationers. The community of actual island residents is small, and they all know each other and have jobs catering to the vacationers. Rain has always had dreams to leave the island and explore the world.

Sebastian Bohique, Rain’s grandfather and best friend, passes away early on in the story. This leaves Rain devastated and coincides with her new ability to see ghosts. A man renting a room at her house shows interest in an heirloom she has just inherited from her grandfather and it soon goes missing. Together with her best friends Charlie and Miranda, Rain must find the heirloom and find out why she can now see ghosts.

The ghosts all seem to be tied together somehow and they keep trying to tell her something that she cannot understand. With her friends, she does everything in her power to help, travelling all around and even off the island; it’s a dangerous and wild adventure.

Rain learns a lot about herself and her grandfather in her search for answers. The writing is gripping and really makes you feel like part of the story. What I enjoyed most about this story is what Rain finds at the end of the story: a hidden secret treasure (of sorts) and I can’t wait to read the next book to see where she’ll go next.

I recommend this story. I enjoyed it and it was like having an adventurous vacation. This book had great characters and setting. I admired Rain and I think you will too.

‘Tis the season… To chill out.

We’re about to have a scorcher summer and a hotter than Hades holiday season.

I’m not really a jolly old soul when it comes to hitting the stores and dealing with so many people in a small space. I usually need to decompress and relax after hearing Jingle Bells for the millionth time. Here are five seasonal things I consider to be the big guns to surviving Christmas.

• Magical Elves and Little Wishes Chocolate by Cadbury check your local stores. Bubbly or crackly chocolates, need I say more?
• Twinings Christmas tea blends Spiced Apple Infusion and Traditional Christmas Tea $11.99 each available on their website.  These came out last year, but since they’re on their website, maybe they’ll bring them out again. They smell great and taste like childhood Christmases from long, long ago.
•  So White bath bomb $6.25 each from Lush. Soaking in a cool bath with these bath bombs hits the spot.
•  All I want for Christmas is a Vampire by Kerrilyn Sparks. Kerrilyn has a few Christmas themes Vampire books, but this one tickles my funny bone.
•  The Die Hard films. All of them. Explosions and corny one liners. There is no better way to de stress.

What things do you do to calm down after a hectic trip to the shops at this time of year?

Are there any Christmas things we should know about to help us chill out even more?

Angels are all around us: beautiful, awe-inspiring, irresistible. Ordinary mortals yearn to catch a glimpse of one of these stunning beings and thousands flock to The Church of Angels to feel their healing touch.

But what if their potent magnetism isn’t what it seems?
Willow knows she’s different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars.
Willow has a gift. She can look into people’s futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. But she has no idea where she gets this power from.

Until she meets Alex…
Alex is one of the few who know the truth about angels. He knows Willow’s secret and is on a mission to stop her.
The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible.
In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.

Willow uses her powers to read people’s futures and earn a little money. She is doing a reading on a classmate when she sees the image of an angel feeding. It’s not long before the angel himself is knocking on Willow’s door to see what she is all about. When Alex also shows up in her life, things begin to change fast. She is stuck between two sides, and it’s only thanks to Alex that she lives long enough to find out about herself.

Willow is a strong, independent character. She is intelligent and has a ‘do what needs to be done’ persona, rather than the typical damsel in distress. This mostly comes from having to take care of herself and learning to do things on her own from a young age. The writing keeps a constant pace as Alex and Willow do a lot of travelling and road trips to hide and find answers. They are always cautious of each other as well; Alex was hired to kill Willow but he can sense there is something different about her.

What I loved about this story is the fact that the angels are the villains. They come to Earth to feed on the energy and life force of people; this is something that can be done all at once, or a little at a time, causing different side effects. When they feed off a human, that human believes they have seen an angel and that the church is the true church because they have seen it with their own eyes. So the church grows extremely fast and gains followers with every sighting (or feeding).

The strong lead character of Willow is admirable, and I loved her. The complete blind willingness of people who follow these angels, who are literally feeding off of them, is an intriguing storyline that kept me turning the pages. I really recommend this book. I still find myself thinking about it and I look forward to the rest of the series.

Going on a job hunt part 4

Seriously, I was 18 the last time I had an official job interview, so I was shocked to get a call back, and was nervous like you wouldn’t believe on the day of the interview.

Here are a few ideas to consider for when you get the call to come in for an interview, and things I want to do better next time this happens to me.

#1 Read up on the company. Get to know as much as you can about whom you’ve applied to. Most places I’m applying for have websites that contain an about page. You don’t necessarily have to memorise everything, but know enough to get a feel for their culture and values.

#2 Bring a pen. Black ink is best, but make sure it works and is a quick drying type. That way if you have any paperwork to fill out you’ll be prepared and you won’t have to borrow one of theirs. *warning, check the pen for leaks and keep it in a safe and easily accessible place so as to avoid inksplosions or the hand bag treasure hunt.*

#3 Prepare at least 3 really good questions to ask your interviewer that have nothing to do with pay rates. I found this list on seek.com.au to be quite a good place to start.

#4 Bring a copy of your resume, cover letter, birth certificate, a recent photo, and any relevant letters of recommendation, character references or certificates. Depending on how the company works, HR/ head office may or may not have passed on everything you submitted in the application to your interviewer.

#5 Smile. Sounds easy and all that, but when you’re nervous as all get out, you’re probably more worried about getting the answers right and sounding appropriate. Smiling can be either strained or non-existent.  Smile when you shake their hand, and if you are too nervous to smile constantly, work on your body language… here’s a great Tedx lecture by Allan Pease.

Bel:

Cover

This looks for all with world like a post apocalyptic novel with a desolate desert scene, a cityscape in the distance and beside the sky in shades of sunset; there is only a lone figure in a red hoodie with two dogs. Quite dramatic and fits the story really well.

Characters

Almost everyone in this story is morally corrupt. Makes it easy to pick who I would want at my back.

Favourite

No brainer this one. Juneau, she’s discovering the world for the first time, literally, and making the best of the situation. She has to be one of the best heroines this year.

Least Favourite

Hmmm, this one is more difficult. Mr. Blackwell just makes my hackles rise.

Beginning

Juneau is going about the business of getting her clan fed. Then the helicopters came and took all but her and one other away to a far off place. It’s up to Juneau to find them and free them.

Storyline

When she travels beyond her clan’s borders, Juneau finds that her upbringing was based on lies. She’s determined to find her clan and free them, but the men who took her clan are now on the hunt for her.

Ending

Like last month’s book this continues on… so technically there was no ending.

Thoughts

I wasn’t holding my breath on liking this one. HOWEVER, I ended up having this book finished in about 12 hours. I loved it. I was glad some of the bad things I was expecting didn’t happen. I like that Juneau is battling on, and her focus is buoyed by the person we least expected. (Whoops, spoiler alert). I will definitely be looking to read on. Amy Plum has made a fan out of me.

Quote

“No, that’s what you do when your baby’s freaking out. So, Poe’s a raven-I inter-species extrapolated. And it worked. What would you have done?” ~Juneau giving Miles a piece of her mind.

Krista:

Cover

I really love the cover design, the contrast between the deserted land into the city and the clouds is really intriguing. But I don’t think it really fitted the story at all.

Characters

The story is told from rotating chapters between Juneau and Miles. She is on a mission, straight forward, direct and means business. Miles is just wanting to get away from his father who is very upset he just flunked a test and staying on his good side. He’s more laid back and curious.

Favourite

I found Juneau to be completely engrossing. She was in business mode, following the instructions she was given and always keeping her goal in mind. You don’t get that very often in YA books; it caught me off guard and I loved it.

Least Favourite

I would have to say Miles’ dad: completely egotistical and focused on money, no matter what the consequences.

Beginning

After some travelling, Juneau finds herself among a busy city full of people and technology and life. She was raised believing after World War Three in 1984 there was nothing left. Her clan disappeared while she was hunting and she must find them.

Storyline

Travelling from Alaska to Seattle, Juneau finds a world she did not know existed. Following the guidance of her Yara and her instincts, she uses her learned powers to guide her to her missing clan. She must out run the drug company that is after her by travelling through many states, and a member of her own clan who may have deceived them all.

Ending

It ends with a lot of questions and on a cliff hanger. Right when everything is all coming together, we have to wait! There is some romance as Miles and Juneau get close through their travels, but it definitely does not play a huge role in the story. The ending really shows a lot of heart.

Thoughts

With the book cover and the summary of the book, I was hoping for more apocalyptic-dystopian of a story, but was also pleasantly surprised to come by a character like Juneau. Not your usual type for a main character but one of the most admirable girls I have come across yet. She knew what had to be done and did whatever was needed to keep going. She didn’t take any crap and told it like it was: the full truth and nothing but the truth. I also love travelling or “road trip” stories and with this one we get to travel a lot, including to my home town of Salt Lake City!

Quote
“I’m lying here in a tent, pretending to be asleep but actually fearing for my life as I watch a bunny murderer have a conversation with our campfire.”- Miles