Newes From the Dead

Anne Green wakes to pitch blackness. She can't move or speak or even open her eyes. The last thing she can remember is walking up to a scaffold to be hanged for the murder of her baby. Is she in purgatory? Or has she been buried alive?

So begins this chilling and fascinating tale based on the real-life story of a British serving maid convincted and hung for infanticide in 1650. The story begins with Anne regaining consciousness and shifts back and forth between her recollections of how she got to her current state and the perspective of Robert Matthews, a young medical student originally assisting with the dissection of Anne's body and later with its resuscitation. Even though you know what will happen, the creepiness of the circumstances and the horrorific details concerning Anne's seduction, labor, and jailing give the book a nice tension and suspense. The historical details are fascinating, though the book remains accessible to those not used to the historical fiction genre. All in all, Mary Hooper has crafted a creepy, bewitching tale perfect for a long car trip or airplane ride.

There's a great book trailer by the publisher at YouTube as well:

Let It Snow

Setting: Gracetown, North Carolina; Christmas; massive snow storm. Three popular young adult authors write three separate but interconnected romances.

In the first, Maureen Johnson tells the story of Jubilee Dougal stuck on a train to Florida and her grandparents because her parents have been arrested as part of a riot over collectible Christmas decorations. Parted from her perfect boyfriend, things go from bad to worse when the train gets stuck in snow in Gracetown. Jubilee decides to make a break for the Waffle House across the interstate rather than get trapped on the train full of hyperactive cheerleaders. There she meets Stuart, who invites her to stay with he and his mom for Christmas. Stuart is sweet and cute, a good listener, who unfortunately asks a lot of uncomfortable questions about just how perfect her boyfriend really is. The question is, is Jubilee ready to face the answer?

John Green brings the second tale of Tobin, who is happily watching a Bond marathon with his best friends The Duke and JP while his parents are stuck in Boston with the snowstorm, when his other friend Keun calls from his night shift at Waffle House demanding they come immediately with a Twister board--for THERE ARE CHEERLEADERS here! Tobin and JP are instantly convinced it is a brilliant idea to go out in the storm for the sake of cheerleaders...the "Duke" however, their lone female friend, is less than enthusiastic...though she is convinced with the promise of Waffle House hash browns. The three friends face one crazy obstacle after another on their quest for the Waffle House, but as they near their destination, Tobin becomes uncomfortably aware that he is less and less interested in cheerleaders and more and more distracted by an unlikely source.

The third story comes from Lauren Myracle and involves the romance, or rather break up, of Addie and Jeb. Addie and Jeb have been dating for the last year, until a week before Christmas, when Addie makes a choice that may have destroyed their relationship forever. Addie is mired in her own misery and begins to feel worse as her friends help her see that it may not be Jeb who needs to change. Is it too late for Addie to start fresh and win Jeb back?

All in all, a cute collection of holiday romance, nothing too deep, but fun to kick back with on a weekend...especially if it ever gets cold enough for snow!