The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Surrounded by a psychic family, Blue is the only member of her eccentric family who has no psychic ability. She does however make psychic power stronger in those who have it. Blue’s been told for years that she can’t kiss a boy because a kiss to her true love would kill him. She decides to never kiss any boy.

The first chapter draws you in, but it takes more persistence to stick with the story of the Raven boys, who attend Aglionby Academy, a nearby private school. The boys’ complicated relationships take a while to unfold, but if you stick with it, your reward will be an intriguing paranormal story. There’s Ronan, an angry boy who skips classes and gets into fights with his older brother. There’s Adam, a good-looking teen, who unlike the others, comes from a poor family and struggles to stay in the expensive school. His abusive father hates his son’s motivation to better himself and has no problem beating his son. And there’s shy Noah who remains in the background, who holds a secret that none of them could ever imagine.

Coming from a wealthy family, Gansey, the leader of the Raven Boys, has been looking into ley lines—places where spirits travel—for a long time as he searches for the grave of a Welsh king, Glendower, who legend claims will grant a reward to the one who awakens him. An instructor at Aglionby Academy is also searching for Glendower and will do anything to find it—including murder.

Blue becomes involved with the Raven Boys when Adam expresses an interest in her. Though attracted to him, she worries how the relationship will develop, knowing the curse that’s connected to her. She joins their venture of locating Glendower’s grave. Later, Blue and Gansey discover a body near an ancient church. This body is of their time period. Decayed, there’s not much left to identify the corpse. Gansey finds a billfold. Inside, the driver’s license photo turns out to be someone they all know. They soon discover that danger lurks within their grand adventure, threatening each and every one of them.

This is the first title in a series of four books.

For fun check out: How to graffiti a car in just under 3.5 minutes (You Tube by Maggie Stiefvater)

Strong as Death by M.S. Kaye

Ilona is sick and tired of never leaving home without her mother by her side. Frustrated by her mother’s constant presence and overprotectiveness, seventeen-year-old Ilona escapes their apartment. She observes a woman being threatened and steps up to help. That’s when Ilona is hit by a car. Taken to the hospital, her legs miraculously heal, something that has always occurred when she’s injured. A little boy appears, crying for his mother.

When Joey runs straight through a hospital curtain, Ilona realizes the boy is a ghost. Her mother has always refused to talk about things that seem out of place, and Ilona is determined to find out about the world but, most of all, about herself. Wandering the streets in a bad neighborhood in Brooklyn, she meets Archer, a rough-looking boy, who befriends her and directs her to safety.

On her quest to uncover what her mother has always hidden from her, Ilona discovers she’s in love with Archer. But there’s a problem. How can you love someone who never gives you the hug you desire or the kiss you dream about?

This book will appeal to both male and female readers, as many of the characters are male. FYI: repetitive harsh language occurs from characters in the story who are gang members. This intriguing story takes the reader on a fast-pace journey through the alter-dimension between life and death. This is the debut of a new series, so you can look forward to more of this fascinating story!

Available at Amazon