Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier

Pilgrim's Wilderness by Tom Kizzia
This is a hard review to write because there is so much I want to say about this book. First let me say I loved this book, although I will admit there were parts that were hard to read. Papa Pilgrim is a horrible human being and his family suffers terribly under his tyranny. I use the word tyranny because Papa Pilgrim considers himself the supreme leader. There is only one way and it is his way, the law do not apply to him.

We first meet Papa Pilgrim aka Robert Hale in Texas. He meets and marries his sweetheart 16 year old Kathrine. Six weeks later she kills herself with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The only one home at the time is Robert but he is never charged. Jump ahead several years and several wives and Papa meets and marries his fourth wife, 16 year old Kurana Rose. He is 33 at the time. This is when he finds religion or at least his interpretation of it. They settle in New Mexico until gets into trouble with the law. This is when he decides to move to  Alaska. The family lives in Fairbanks for awhile but Papa can not stay out of trouble, so he moves his wife and 13 children to Macarthy. The sleepy little town has no idea what is heading its way.
                                           

Picture Me Gone

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff
After my last couple of books I needed a break from the dark and creepy so I decided to read Picture Me Gone. I was not disappointed. Don't get me wrong this is not a warm and fuzzy story but a complicated mystery.

Mila is 12 years old but wise beyond her young years. She has this ability to read a room and everyone in it. She gathers details that no one else sees. This is a skill that will come in very handy. Mila and her family live in England and are planning a trip to New York to visit her father's best friend but just before their trip he disappears. There is no note, nothing. He's just gone leaving behind his wife, baby and beloved dog. As soon as Mila arrives in New York she knows something is not right and what she finds out will rock her world right off its axis.

Velveteen

Velveteen by Daniel Marks
Velveteen Munroe is 16 and dead. She has been tortured and killed by a serial killer named Bonesaw. She is now in Purgatory, trapped with other souls who have unresolved issues that are preventing them from crossing over. In the City of the Dead aka Purgatory, everyone has a job. Her job is to rescue souls trapped in the living world but Velveteen has other ideas. She is bent on vengeance. Velveteen is determined to keep Bonesaw from killing any more young girls. Each time she crosses over to the living world she rocks the very foundation of the City of the Dead but nothing can deter Velveteen from her vengeance, this includes her partner Nick. 

Velveteen is a strong character. She is dark and sarcastic. I really liked her and her story. But be warned Velveteen is not for the squeamish. The descriptions of Bonesaw's murders can be a bit gruesome.  If you are a fan of horror than you will not be disappointed.

Riders of the Apocalypse Series

Riders of the Apocalypse by Jackie Kessler
I read this series awhile ago and just reread it. I forgot how  much I enjoyed it. The story is about issues that teenagers face each day but with a twist. It is fast paced, edgy and brutally honest.

Each book and there are 4 in total deals with some tough subjects, here comes the twist, Death decides to make each one of the main characters one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. In the first book, Hunger, 17 year old Lisabeth is Famine. She suffers from anorexia and is given a scale and  rides out to dish out her own idea of justice.The second book, Rage, 16 year old Missy cuts herself to relieve all the rage she feels inside, so Death makes her War. She is armed with a sword and payback is on her mind. The third book, Loss, it is Pestilence. Billy is 15 years old and is his school's punching bad. He is bullied by everyone, armed with a bow Billy gets to exact his vengeance. In the fourth and final book, Breath, Death becomes so depressed that he is thinking about suicide. The other riders must help him find his way, if they don't the world will end.

                                                                         
                              This is only one of the books. They will all leave you breathless.
                                                                         

Asylum

Asylum by Madeleine Roux
This is a creepy story, throw in some creepy photographs and you're going to want to read it with the lights on!

Dan Crawford is 16 and about to spend his summer at a college in NH taking a 5 week college prep course. He is excited for the program to start. Dan is a loner and somewhat of an outcast at his high school and hopes to make some new friends. It doesn't take him long. He hits it off immediately with his dorm mates, Abby and Jordan and together they dig into the history of their creepy dorm. They learn that the school was once an asylum for the criminally insane and their dorm housed some of the most dangerous patients. The three dig deeper into the shady past of their school and learn it is no coincidence the three of them ended up together. They also learn that some secrets should remain locked away.

                                                                              

The Murmurings

The Murmurings by Carly Anne West
Sophie's older sister Nell hears voices and sees shadows. This causes her to be institutionalized at Oakside Behavioral Institution. A few weeks later Nell is found hanging by her toe from a tree. It is ruled suicide. Sophie doesn't buy it. She decides to investigate her sister's death. Armed with her sister's journal and her one friend Evan, they try to solve the puzzle of her death and the secrets of Oakside. Time is of the essence. Sophie is starting to hear voices and see things out the corner of her eye. She soon realizes things are not what they seem at Oakside.

This is a first class supernatural thriller. You will not look gaze into mirrors quite as long after reading this book. Just in case you couldn't tell I really liked this book. It is fast paced and creepy!