Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Remember Me 3: The Last Story Author: Christopher Pike ISBN: 0-671-87267-2 Publisher: Archway paper back Part of a Series: Remember Me Type of book: science fiction, good vs evil, 1990s, white lady savior, greed, death Year it was published: February 1995 Summary: Someone did not like Shari Cooper writing her stories. Shari Cooper had died once, and then returned to Earth as a Wanderer -- a soul who had been given permission to take the place of another soul in a mature body. Shari has regained her memory of her previous life. More than that she has realized her purpose in returning to mortal life -- to write stories for young people to help them understand the immortal life that is to follow. Her talent is inspired, her destiny great, and it is not long before Shari and her books are known all over the world. Then one special night a story of incomparable beauty and mystery comes to her. An ancient tale that speaks of the origin of mankind and t...

Name of Book: Lila's Secret Valentine Author: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-48280-7 Publisher: Skylark Part of a Series: Sweet Valley Twins and Friends specials Type of book: Specials, valentines, intensity, emotions, California, Sweet Valley, 1985 Year it was published: 1995 Summary:  Lila Fowler is dreading Valentines Day. She has no valentine, and she's determined not to let her friends in the exclusive Unicorn Club know. So she tells everyone that she does have a boyfriend and sends herself flowers and candy to prove it. Her valentine's name is Gray Williams, and he's rich, cute, and completely made up. The Unicorns are totally impressed, and Lila is thrilled- until her friends pressure her into bringing Gray to the Valentine's dance. How can she bring a date that doesn't exist? Characters: This book explores more about Lila, although Elizabeth and Jessica are also thrown in. I can't imagine the characters changing in any shape o...

Name of Book: Evil Elizabeth Author: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-48283-1 Publisher: Bantam Book Part of a Series: Sweet Valley Twins and Friends Super Chiller Type of book: Sweet valley, 1985, Halloween, moon, evil mask, supernatural, evil, mystery Year it was published: 1995 Summary: Everyone thinks of Elizabeth Wakefield as the nice twin. That's why she loves her Halloween mask-it's so scary that no one can believe Elizabeth is behind it. But her appearance isn't the only thing that changes when Elizabeth puts on the mask-little by little it makes Elizabeth act evil...only Elizabeth doesn't know it. It's up to her twin sister, Jessica, to destroy the mask...before Elizabeth does something she'll regret forever. Characters: Once more the characters require no explanation and they are explained right at the start and all that. (Hmm, I wonder how many Halloweens in the canon do the twins experience; in Super Chillers I'm reading, ...

Name of Book: The Secret of the Magic Pen Author: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-48282-3 Publisher: Bantam book Part of a Series: Sweet Valley Twins and Kids Super Chillers Type of book: 1985, Sweet Valley, summer camp, mystery, supernatural, plagiarism, young adult Year it was published:  1995 Summary: Summer vacation is here, and Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and their friends have just arrived at sleep-away camp! On a hike through a dark, eerie cave, Elizabeth finds something incredible- a glowing pen! She can't wait to use it to write an article for the camp newspaper. But as she writes, Elizabeth is astonished to find herself composing a mystery full of scary twists and turns. And to her horror, little by little the mystery seems to be coming true! THis isn't just an ordinary pen. Could it be haunted? Characters: The characters are self explanatory and there's nothing special about them. There are a few new characters that I doubt will make th...

Name of Book: Don't die, my love Author: Lurlene McDaniel ISBN: 0-553-56715-2 Publisher: Bantam Type of book: 1990s, cancer, young adult, true love Year it was published: 1995 Summary: "Meant for each other." That's how both Julie Ellis and Luke Muldenhower have always felt. In sixth grade Luke actually asked Julie to marry him, and she just laughed. In eighth grade they began dating. Now in high school, they are deeply in love. Luke, a talented football player, is almost certain to receive an athletic scholarship to a top college. And no matter what her parents say, wherever Luke goes, Julie intends to follow. When Luke can't shake what he thinks is a virus, Julie persuades him to see a doctor. Luke's test results are alarming, but Julie believes their love is stronger than anything. Can love survive, now and forever? Characters: The characters do not have a lot of depth to them in my opinion. They seem to be a bit on the simplisti...

Name of book:  Native Speaker Author Name:  Chang-Rae Lee ISBN: 1-57322-531-2 Publisher: Riverhead Books Type of book: Adult, Korean American, 1960s-1990s, spy, Year it was published: 1995 Summary: Korean American Henry Park is "surreptitious, B+ student of life, illegal alien, emotional alien, Yellow peril: neo-American, stranger, follower, traitor spy..." or so says hiw fie, in the list she writes upon leaving him. Henry is forever uncertain of his place, a perpetual outsider looking at American culture from a distance. And now, a man of two worlds, he is beginning to fear that he has betrayed both-and belongs to neither. Characters: Unfortunately I have little to say about the characters. I wasn't endeared to them, nor do I hate them. Henry seems to be confused throughout the book, and I'm still not sure how Leila came back to him and whatnot. Theme: There are two themes that I picked up from reading this book: "Certainly it is n...

Name of book: The return of the evil twin Author Name: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-57002-1 Publisher: Bantam Type of book: Young adult, contemporary Year it was published: 1995 Summary: Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield have no idea that their world is about to be turned upside down-again. Last christmas, Margo-a girl who looked, talked and dressed exactly like Jessica and Elizabeth-arrived in Sweet Valley to take what she considered her rightful place in the Wakefield home. On a dark winter's night, Margo fell to a violent death, and the Wakefields thought their nightmare was over. But they didn't know about Nora, Margo's own twin sister. Nora, separated from Margo at birth, is outraged when she discovers that the sister she'd never known is dead...and that California's picture-perfect twins are to blame. Now Nora wants revenge-and she's capable of evil beyond anything Margo could have ever dreamed Characters: The characters were unrealistic...

Name of book: The Horses at the gate Author Name: Mary Mackey ISBN: 0-451-40723-7 Publisher: Onyx fiction Type of book: Adult, pre-historical fiction Year it was published: 1995 Part of a series: The Year the Horses Came, before, Fires of Spring afterwards Summary: In the year 4368 BC, Marrah, daughter of the peace-loving shore people, has fled captivity from the nomad warrior horde who have a lust for carnage and conquest that is alien to her. Across a landscape of frozen steppes and trackless forest, she and her companions must evade the horsenemn before they reach her beloved homeland by the sweetwater sea. Making escape even more dangerous is hte presence of her lover, Stavan, who has abandoned his place of honor among the nomads to join her in her flight and ally himself wiht the Mother Goddess. Marrah is forced to puer convictions and courage to the supreme test-as she risks everything she and her people hold dear-in a struggle that will change the prehistoric ...

Name of book:   The Hundred Secret Senses Author Name:  Amy Tan ISBN:  0-8041-1109-X Publisher:  Ivy Books, Ballantine Books Type of Book:  Adult, fantasy-history china, contemporary Year it was published:  1995 Summary:   From amazon: "Olivia, the narrator of this story, was born to an American mother and a Chinese father. She meets her 18-year-old Chinese half sister, Kwan, for the first time shortly after their father's death. Kwan adores "Libby-ah" and tries to introduce her to her Chinese heritage through stories and memories. Olivia is embarrassed by her sibling, but finds as she matures that she has inadvertently absorbed much about Chinese superstitions, spirits, and reincarnation. Olivia explains, "My sister Kwan believes she has Yin eyes. She sees those who have died and now dwell in the World of Yin..." Now in her mid-30s, Olivia, a photographer, is still seeking a meaningful life. The climax of the story comes when she and her...

Composition of a Soul The title: The Lost Mind Author: Christopher Pike ISBN: 0-671-87269-9 Publisher: Archway Paperback original Type of book: Young adult novel Year it was published: August 1995 Summary:   She awoke in the woods beside a dead body. There was a knife in her hand, blood on her clothes. Had she killed the young woman who lay beside her? She couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember anything. Not even her own name. It was as if someone had stolen her mind. Stolen her soul. Characters: This novel is written in a first point of view from Jennifer. I enjoyed the characters a lot, everyone had interesting personality traits and were likable. Everyone also plays a part in one way or another. Jennifer can best be described as resourceful and brave, as in all of Pike's female protagonists, and isn't afraid to do what she can so evil can be stopped.  Theme: Pike, in my opinion, seems to be kind of obsessed with the idea ...