Flashback Friday: The Secret Circle Vol 2: The Captive by L.J. Smith

Flashback Friday reviews are books that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Publication Date: 1992
Originally Read: 1992

Book Summary:

Can the Secret Circle Survive...Or will the Dark Struggle of Good, Evil and Tormented Love Consume Them All?

Lured into the most popular in-crowd imaginable, Cassie is intoxicated by her new found strength, a power as addictive as it is perilous.

Caught between tow members' consuming desires to use the coven's mysterious force, Cassie turns to one of their boyfriends, Adam - and falls captive to her own dangerous love.

Bewitched by the promise of love through magic, Cassie captures Adam's heart and upsets the delicate balance of power, unleashing a storm of fury no one anticipates. (from back cover)

My thoughts:
This series is one of my guilty pleasures. The story is pretty unrealistic and the characters leave a lot to be desired. BUT I can't help but love them all.

Wow, I'm really wondering if I even read the back cover summary of this one when I first read it. It's actually nothing like what the book is actually about! Wonder if they could have fit a few more adverbs and adjectives into that one!

I was surprised that this series was republished and I haven't read enough reviews to know what first time readers think of it. I for one, will always love it for it's nostalgia. Unlike today, where I can walk into a bookstore and have literally 100s of YA books to choose from. When I was a kid, I had only a few authors to satisfy myself with. And satisfy I did! I can still remember waiting (oh the waiting!) for the next books in the series to be published! I know I read these at least 3 times over.

Vol 2 was always my favorite. Less of the totally unrealistic 'love'. More cut throat good vs evil witchy awesomeness! While I won't go as far as saying I was routing for the bad guys...the good guys almost succeeded in turning me over to the dark side. Being bad can be oh so much more fun. So what if you 'accidentally' release an ancient evil on the world? ; )

As soon as I get my hot little hands on an old copy of Vol 3 we can finish up this series together! (with a bang? Can't remember if there were bangs...fire I think...and more death? Ooo - I can't remember - how exciting!)

L.J., you will forever hold a special place in my heart :)
In case you missed it - click here for my review of Vol 1: The Initiation

How about you? Did you read this series as a teen? Have you read it for the first time recently?

Flashback Friday: The Baby-Sitter by R.L. Stine

Flashback Friday reviews are of books that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title The Baby-Sitter
Author: R.L. Stine
Publication Date: 1989
Originally Read: around the same time

(from back cover)

From the minute Jenny accepted the Hagen baby-sitting job, she knew she had made a mistake. 

First there was the dark and disheveled Hagen house, moaning and groaning with her every step. Then the crank phone calls started. "Hi, Babes. Are you all alone? Company's coming." When Jenny discovered a creepy neighbor prowling in the backyard and a threatening note in her backpack, she realized this wasn't a harmless game.

But who would want to hurt her? What kind of maniac wanted to scare Jenny... to death?

My Review:
Oh man, it was books like this one that lead me to love R.L. Stine so much when I was kid! Looking back on it now....pretty cheesy  - but I still love it!

Jenny was such a annoying character. She was terrified of babysitting at the Hagen's, but she went back every week. She found people lurking around, received strange phone calls and was even sent a threatening letter but she writes it off as nothing and then, when she's back at the Hegen's she's terrified again!

Oh, and don't get me started on Mr. Hagen!

Have to say, the ending, while a little short, was suspenseful. Also, that cover? I remember it very well - and even now, when I look at it, all I can think of is "why is she so cold? oh wait, I guess she's afraid...no...still looks cold to me"

Apparently I missed out because unbeknownst st to me, Mr Stine wrote not 1 not 2 but 3 more Baby-Sitter books! Couldn't believe there were 4 in all! There is a lovely little empty space on my bookcase where I'm sure they will fit - need to find me those babies!

Did any of you guys read this one when you were younger? What do you think?

Flashback Friday: I Saw You That Night! by R.L. Stine

Flashback Friday reviews are of books that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: I Saw You That Night!
Author: R.L. Stine
Publication Date: 1994
Originally Read: ?

(from back cover)

Sand. Surf. Sun. Roxie lives for the summer. But this summer things aren't going the way Roxie planned. 

It all started when she broke into Lee Blume's house just to win a stupid bet. Because while she was in Lee's house, Roxie saw something she shouldn't have seen. Heard something she shouldn't have heard. 

And now someone's looking for Roxie. 

Someone who wants her...dead.

This one was a pleasant surprise for me. I know I owned this book - I have very real memories of the cover BUT I didn't remember the storyline at all. It's pretty unusual for me to not remember a book I've read (even if it is almost 20 years later ;) So there might be a chance I never actually read it :)

R.L. Stine really is a master. He's one of those authors I would love to sit down for coffee with so I could pick his brain. I Saw You That Night, while somewhat cheesy compared to modern YA thrillers, still, in my opinion, stands the test of time. I very much enjoyed this twisty romp through the landscape of a very disturbed teenager :)

I would recommend pretty much every book Stine has ever written :) Thrill factor might be a little low on this one, but the action is very real. Very much, "crap, I hope I'm never in that situation" combined with "wow, I'm really happy my life isn't this f***ed up ;)

A happy, enjoyable read for me!

Flashback Friday: Weekend by Christopher Pike

Flashback Friday reviews are of books that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: Weekend
Author: Christopher Pike
Publication Date: 1986
Originally Read: circa 1993

(from the back cover)

The weekend in Mexico sounded like a dream vacation. Four guys, five girls - and a gorgeous oceanside mansion all to themselves. It should have been perfect.

Except nothing was going the way they'd planned. There was the girl upstairs who was fighting for her life. The phone lines that went dead. And the explosion in the garage that could have killed them all.

But not even that prepared them for what happened next. Because while they were getting some sun, someone else was getting revenge - and the terror wouldn't stop until the weekend was over.

My Review:
OMG I love this book! I remember loving it as a teen and I think I love it even more now. Like many of my teen books, I have no idea where my original copy went but I found a 1986 edition at a used bookstore (pretty sure I squealed a little when I saw it).

The story line? Pretty far fetched. The characters? Very stereotypical and unbelievable. The setting, situations, and scenarios this group of high school seniors find themselves in? No way it could every happen.

BUT!

So wonderfully outrageous!. I mean, teenagers transporting guns and fireworks across the US / Mexico boarder? I don't think so. You don't really even see YA books these days that have young characters carrying guns. In 1986 it was a pretty common affair though. Oh, and apparently, teenagers were also sex crazed maniacs would would kill their best friends over the silliest of things.

Did I say I loved this book? Well, I do! It so very much a typical Pike read for me. The action is way out there but the mystery is spot on.

It will always be one of my favorite and most memorable reads from my teen (or pre-teen) years and if you're a fan of Pike's I recommend finding yourself a copy of this one.

Flashback Friday Review: Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin

Flashback Friday reviews are of books that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: Missing Since Monday
Author: Ann M. Martin
Publication Date: 1986
Originally Read: circa 1990

(from Goodreads)

Maggie's taking care of her four-year-old sister for a week. On Monday morning, she puts Courtenay on the bus to school. That afternoon, Courtenay doesn't come home. She never made it to school that day. She's missing. The detectives looking for Courtenay have hardly any clues. Then Maggie starts getting threatening phone calls...and she thinks she's being followed. Whoever took Courtenay is after her, too. One thing's for sure: If the police don't find Courtenay soon, Maggie will be the next one missing.

Another Scholastic Point classic. Some of my favorite memories of elementary school are of the days the Scholastic book fair set up shop in the lobby. Carts and carts of books especially picked out just for us. I loved it! Missing Since Monday was defiantly a book fair find.

Wow - 1986? Really?! Kinda hard to believe I read this one 20 years ago. So, I wasn't quite a teen ;) I had almost forgotten about it but as soon as I saw the cover it all came back to me. Also, about 4 pages in, I remembered the ending :) Have to say, the synopsis makes the book seem a lot more exciting then it really is.

After finishing it, I realized that there are a lot of things we take for granted these days - cell phones, Amber Alert, electronic phone tracking, the Internet - tons of tools that just didn't exist in the mid 80s. Also? Today's bad guys seem to be a lot scarier. It could just be me though.

Missing Since Monday is a book that doesn't really stand the test of time. A young adult reading it today might be confused as to why the characters are using VCRs and payphones instead of DVDs and cell phones :) The subject matter however, unfortunately, will probably never seem dated. Children go missing everyday and the facts and points of reference that the author brings up in this book still hold true -- we should all teach children to memorize their phone numbers, never talk to strangers and never get in a stranger's car - among other things.

I very much enjoyed my second read, and I would encourage anyone out there who might have missed this one to give it a try. Ann M. Martin has written a ton of books and I am finding that they are just as enjoyable to me now as they were all those years ago.

Flashback Friday Review: Everworld by K.A. Applegate

Flashback Friday is a feature were I'll review a book that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: Search for Senna: Everworld Book 1
Author: K. A. Applegate
Publication Date: July 1999
Originally Read: right around the pub date

(from Goodreads)

In the dark past, Zeus and Odin, Huitzilopoctli and Ra, and the other gods of myth decided to abandon the real world. They created another universe, where magic rules, where all the mystery and terror of these capricious immortals holds sway. It is a place where Vikings still sail in the name of Thor, where the Aztecs still make human sacrifices to Huitzilopoctli, and where Merlin still weaves his subtle webs.

For a thousand years and more, Everworld has existed apart from the real world. But now Everworld is in trouble. The cozy universe created by Earth's ancient immortals has been invaded by the creatures of myths that are no part of human tradition. The gods are under attack, divided and terrified. And in this moment of supreme danger, Loki, Norse god of evil, reaches across the barrier between Everworld and the real world to seize a new power: Senna Wales.

Senna carries with her four ordinary high school kids from the Midwest: David, the insecure hero and Senna's love; Christopher, the joker Senna spurned, who hides his own anger and bigotry beneath a glib veneer; Jalil, cold, calculating, and so devoted to rationality he can't even acknowledge his own strange tie to Senna; and April, Senna's half sister — actress, flirt, and Senna's most dangerous enemy.

My thoughts:
I was home from college for the summer, and I can remember my friend 'M' getting into my car and handing me this book.
"It's my brother's. I just finished it and it's good - you have to read it!" she said.
I was more then happy to agree, after all, it was 'M' who convinced me to read the first Harry Potter book. I took her suggestions pretty seriously :)

I can remember being fascinated by the story. One minute these kids are walking towards the shore, the next, they are in this strange land where the normal rules of life do not seem to apply. What led them here? Senna. A strange girl who is definitely more then she appears. The adventures of these unwilling travelers were so enjoyable to read. Caught between the land of Everworld and the real world, they have to fight and cajole their way out of deadly situations while almost simultaneously surviving high school.

Search for Senna is the first in the Everworld series, and sorry to say, the only one I have read. My library seems to have the complete set though so I'm thinking about having a Everworld readathon to try to get through them all!

A great middle grade book. I really think young kids who enjoy action and adventure stories would suck up this series!

Everworld
1. Search for Senna (1999)
2. Land of Loss (1999)
3. Enter the Enchanted (1999)
4. Realm of the Reaper (1999)
5. Discover the Destroyer (1999)
6. Fear the Fantastic (2000)
7. Gateway to the Gods (2000)
8. Brave the Betrayal (1999)
9. Inside the Illusion (2000)
10. Understand the Unknown (2000)
11. Mystify the Magician (2000)
12. Entertain the End (2001)

Flashback Friday Review: Teacher's Pet by Richie Tankersley Cusick

Flashback Friday is a feature were I'll review a book that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: Teacher's Pet
Author: Richie Tankersley Cusick
Publication Date: 1990
Originally Read: circa 1993

Kate likes a little thrill. She likes a little scare. And she loves getting the chance to go to the exclusive week-long writing conference taught by the famous master of horror himself. He's so good at being so bad.
With a teacher like that, you expect a little competition. With a teacher like that, you practically have to kill to get his attention.
Does Kate have what it takes to be teacher's pet?

Another classic from Scholastic's Point publications. This book was soooo cheesy! I loved it! I don't remember being scared the first time I read this but I do remember really getting caught up in the mystery of the story. The characters aren't great - especially Kate - she just annoyed me - but there were plenty of others around that kept the story interesting. And I very much thought I remembered the ending - but I was wrong! So I got to be surprised all over again which was an added bonus.

Every character seems so black and white, I thought for sure I had it all figured out. But what I didn't remember was Cusick's suttle but very effective plot twists that really made this a fun read for me (again :)

The setting of this book always made me think of this old Nintendo game I had...it might have been Friday the 13th or something but it was about a bunch of kids stuck at a summer camp with a killer on the loose. Teacher's Pet very much has that, creepy, scary, evil summer camp vibe.

A great blast from the past! I'll be sure to snatch up any more of Cusick's books I can find out there :)

Flashback Friday Review: The Gratitude of Kings by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Flashback Friday is a feature were I'll review a book that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: The Gratitude of Kings
Author: Marion Zimmer Bradley
Publication Date: December 1997
Originally Read: early 1998

Lythande, a centuries-old magician with a secret, is summoned to the wedding of an old friend. But from the moment she arrives, deadly court intrigue ensues, sounding a warning of danger deep in her soul. And with the future of the kingdom at stake, she finds she must rely on a very different kind of magic than her own, one born of a friendship and faith stronger than any sorcery....

I was in college when I first read this book. I have a very distinct memory of sitting in my boyfriend's dorm room. It was his book and I loved MZB so I borrowed it. It's actually a short story - only about 100 pages or so.

I will always remember this book and it's for a pretty silly reason. Soon after reading this book I set up my very first email account (ok - I think they gave me one in college but no one every used it so it doesn't count :) I can remember sitting at my friends computer staring at the "Welcome to Hotmail" screen. I couldn't for the life of me think of a user name. I finnally decided on eirthe@hotmail.com.
Eirthe is Lythande's very good friend - she's a candle maker whose best friends are fiery salamanders. I loved her character and I loved her name so I stole it :)

Other email addresses have come and gone but eirthe as remained. Granted, I don't use it that often and I'm pretty sure no one of importance sends me email here but still. It was my first and I'll keep it forever :)

As far as The Gratitude of Kings goes - it's a really good story. Like I said, it's short but this doesn't take away from the tale. It's pure fantasy with the all elements fans of MZB have come to expect. I really wish it were longer. I feel in love with the characters - especially Lythande and Eirthe.

I found this book at my local library this week and I'm so glad I did. Fantasy is my true love - in pretty much any form. This short story is a true gem and I plan on getting my own copy soon so I can read it whenever I want :)

Flashback Friday Review: Remember Me by Christopher Pike

Flashback Friday is a feature were I'll review a book that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: Remember Me
Author: Christopher Pike
Publication Date: 1989
Originally Read: circa 1993

SHE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT SHE WAS DEAD.

When Shari Cooper awoke at home after being at her girlfriend's birthday party, her family acted like she wasn't there. They didn't hear a thing she said. They wouldn't even look at her. Then the call came from the hospital. Her father and brother paled. Her mother started to cry. Shari didn't know what was wrong. Not until she followed them to the hospital. There she found herself lying on a cold slab in the morgue. The police said that it was suicide.

Shari knew she had been murdered. Making a vow to herself to find her killer, Shari embarks on the strangest of all criminal investigations: one in which she spies on her friends, and even enters their dreams -- where she comes face-to-face with a nightmare from beyond the grave. The Shadow -- a thing more horrible than death itself -- is the key to Shari's death, and the only thing that can stop her murderer from murdering again.

Totally love this book! I loved it when I was teen and I still love it now :) 

No respectable reading flashback list for me would be complete without a slew of Christopher Pike books. I read every book of his I could get my hands on. Like so many of my teen books - I have no idea where my originals are now but I am slowly working up my collection again :)

Remember Me is esentially a ghost story - told by the ghost. Shari dies and although she doesn't know quite what has happened at first, she quickly learns the ins and outs of no longer being among the living.

This book was great for me the second time around because, although I remembered who the good and bad guys where I had forgotten the twist at the end.

Pike as a way with story telling that I find extreamly enjoyable. If you have never read anything by him - do it now!

I suspect there will be quite a few of his books appearing in my Flashbacks :)

Happy Reading!

Flashback Friday Review: The Secret Circle Volume I: The Initiation by L.J. Smith

Flashback Friday is a feature were I'll review a book that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: The Secret Circle Vol I: The Initiation

Author: L.J. Smith
Publication Date:1992
Originally Read: circa 1992

The Circle's Power has Lured Her Home...
Cassie must confront a shattering challenge: an ordeal that could cost her life or gain her more than she's ever imagined...
Charmed by the Secret Circle, she's initiated into the mysterious "in crowd," a coven of young witches whose power has controlled New Salem for three hundred years.
Hopelessly in love with the coven leader's boyfriend, Cassie risks falling prey to dark powers in order to have him. But if she does, her endless love could destroy the coven, New Salem, and her!
...And She Will Emerge the Leader or Perish!

As most of you know, almost all of L.J. Smith's books have been reprinted and re-released by the publisher. Most series have been combined in strange ways, in my opinon at least :) So! Unless you can find an old used copy somewhere, this book is pretty hard to find. The new Vol 1 is a combination of the orginial  Vol 1,The Initiation and half of Vol 2, The Captive (strange I tell you!).

Fantastic Fiction does a pretty good job of laying out all her books for easy reference (and by easy I mean, it has pictures :)

I got this book when it first came out, waaaaaaayyyyy back in 1992! Back then there were only a handful of YA authors that were writting paranormal /sci fi/ fatasy books. And I loved them all! Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine and L.J. Smith were my absolute favorites. I was lucky, my parents pretty much bought me any book I wanted. They loved to read and their houses were always filled with books!

Flash back to present day....I have no idea where my orginial copies of all these books are. Sadness!

Over the last couple of years as I have rediscovered my YA love, every time I enter a used bookstore I'm on the lookout. I have managed to snag quite a few which makes me happy!

Ok - enough reminicing! On with the review!

So! This book? I have to say my love for it is pure memory love. Honestly? Reading it again now? I didn't really like it at all :( More saddness - I know!

The writing is pretty bad, the characters are way bad and the plot left very much to be desiered. The evil characters are just too evil, the good , a little too good. I had totally forgotten how really horrible the 'love' triangle started out between Cassie, Diana and Adam. Cassie and Adam spend about 5 minutes of their lives together - they speak to eachother for all of 2 minutes and poof! Love! True Love! Pure Love! Forbideen Love!

Puke Love is more like it.

Am I sorry I re-read this book? I don't think so. I would still recommend it to people - young people - like I was when I first read it. I just don't think it stands the test of time. And this maybe because there are so many great gerat YA books out there now. I wish there were even half as many back when I was growing up.

This book will forever be a part of my childhood. My love for it is not sullied. My love is undying and I will continue to collect all of Smith's orginially publsihed series because they make me happy :)

Anyone else out there read this when it first came out? Anyone read the newer releases?

Flashback Friday Review: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Flashback Friday is a feature were I'll review a book that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: Anne of Green Gables
Author: L.M. Montgomery
Publication Date: 1982
Originally Read: circa 1992

This is the classic and immensely popular first novel in the series about Anne Shirley, an irrepressible red-headed orphan. The Cuthberts decide to adopt an orphan -- a strong, hardworking boy to help with the farm chores. Anne is sent to live with them by mistake. Talkative, romantic and imaginative, Anne must convince the Cuthberts to keep her. Once adopted, Anne embraces her new life with energy, and no one who meets her is ever the same.

As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever... but would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage?

Anne knows she's not what they expected -- a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay; she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special -- a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.

 (from PaperBackSwap)

This book takes me right back to childhood. I can remember my cousins and I taking turns reading out loud - sitting in the backyard pretending we were on the Cuthberts farm instead of in my crowded Long Island neighborhood. It was easier for them, they were from the city and my postage stamp yard was more grass then they were used to. I had a harder time pretending I wasn't surrounded by fences and noisy neighbors :) We even tried to put on a play but it all feel apart when we had a fight over who had to play Matthew.

What fun we had!

I try to read this book every couple of years. The memories it brings back are wonderful and the book itself is such a great story. I absolutely love Anne (with an 'e') Shirley. I think she is one of my all time favorite literary characters. She is so full of hope and wonder.

I can't wait to share this one with my little girl in the years to come. If you haven't read Anne of Green Gables I highly recommend that you find a copy :)

Flashback Friday Review: Prom Dress by Lael Littke

Flashback Friday is a feature were I'll review a book that I read as a teen, reread now years later :)

Title: Prom Dress
Author: Lael Littke
Publication Date: 1989
Originally Read: circa 1989

No one who wears the dress is ever the same again. 

Robin is too poor to buy a new dress for the prom. Then she finds a perfect, beautiful dress in the attic of her mysterious employer's house. She "borrows" it to wear to the prom...and dances into her worst nightmare.

The Felicia finds the dress. The price she pays for wearing it is more than any girl should pay...

But Nicole is too smart to be caught by the dress. Isn't she? Poor Nicole!

And then there's Gabrielle, Robin's little sister. Did she find the dress? Or did the dress find Gabrielle?

Can anyone stop the fatal attraction of the...

Prom Dress?

(from back cover)

Oh my! Does anyone else remember this one? I loved it back in 1989! :)
I was very much on a horror novel kick at the time and this book was perfect. There's mystery and suspense. Tragedy and hope. Romance and hate. And you know what? Reading it again more then *gasp* 20 years later - I still kinda love it :)
It's a pretty simple read and the story itself is pretty straight forward. I had forgotten how interconnected the characters are and I totally forgot about the twist at the end!
I always thought this book would make a good cheesy horror movie. Although, if we are going by fashions of the late 80s - pretty sure the dress wouldn't stand the test of time!
I'm so glad I was able to find another copy of the original printing. There are actually quite a few out there so I guess the book isn't too popular :) It is with me though so I'm keeping mine!

As a side note, the publisher Point, which is a imprint of Scholastic, also published a bunch of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books back in the day - which I also love and hopefully will be reviewing in future Flashback Fridays :)

Flashback Friday Review: Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer

Flashback Friday is a feature where I'll review a book that I read when I was young, reread now years later :)

Title: Charlotte Sometimes
Author: Penelope Farmer
Publication Date: 1969
Originally Read: circa 1989

Charlotte finds it difficult to sleep her first night at boarding school, but she does manage to drift off in the uncomfortable bed. Waking in the middle of the night, she sees a cedar tree looming outside her window, outlined by a silver moon. The tree had not been there the night before.

A trick of the light, Charlotte thinks, and she falls asleep again. But in the morning it's not just the tree that's new; the whole room is different, old-fashioned, and her roommate Susannah is gone, replaced by a strange girl named Emily, who insists on calling Charlotte "Clare". Is Charlotte dreaming, or could she have slipped back in time?

 (back cover)

I have such fond memories of this book. I can even remember exactly where it sat on my bookcase in my bedroom (next to the closet, bottom shelf :)
I loved the simplicity of it. No convoluted explanation for why Charlotte and Clare switched places. They just did. The book was more about the characters themselves and what they went through.
Since we only have Charlotte point of view, it was exciting for me to imagine Clare - as seen through the eyes of her sister Emily who Charlotte confides in.
There is also Sarah, a teacher in Charlotte's time that seems to know who Charlotte is and was told by her mother to 'be nice'. Who is Sarah and what part does she play in the girl's lives? We find out towards the end of the book and I was happy to say - I had forgotten how it ended - so I was happy to be surprised all over again.
I have no idea where my original copy of Charlotte Sometimes wound up but I was able to find a used copy of the same printing. As a treasure of my childhood, I plan on keeping it for my daughter to read :)