Wings by E. D. Baker

SYNOPSIS:  Tamisin isn't like other girls her age.  She has pointed ears, her freckles sparkle, and she sprouts wings.  Things become even more complicated as she tries to find out who she is . . . or WHAT she is.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  I found the writing in this book to be a little choppy and unpolished, which made it hard for me to get through.  On the other hand, I think the book is intended for younger readers, so they may have more patience with the storytelling style than I would.  As far as content goes, this book had some violence, which I thought was a little gruesome.  It also had some frightening characters that might scare off younger readers.

RATING:  PG or PG13 for Violence and Frightening Sequences

AUDIENCE:  Teens

STARS:  1

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Small Persons With Wings, Artemis Fowl

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

SYNOPSIS:  Sydney's job is to make sure humans don't find out about vampires.  So when she finds herself sent to a boarding school to protect an endangered vampire from her own kind, she realizes she has her hands full.

AUNT SHARON'S TAKE:  I didn't realize when I checked this out, but it is actually a spin-off of another series.  Fortunately, it works all right as a stand-alone.  I was doing all right with this book until about halfway through when it started to get a little gruesome for me.  Personally, I'm not a huge fan of reading about vampires drinking blood, and there is quite a bit of that in this book, especially toward the end.  I also thought the plot like was somewhat unoriginal (another Twilight copycat), so I didn't end up being a fan of the book.  I wouldn't really recommend it, especially for younger audiences.  As far as content goes, there was some violence and horror sequences.  There was also some bad language in it.  There was a little bit of sensuality in it as well, although it was pretty minimal.

RATING:  PG13 for Violence, Scary Sequences, and Language

AUDIENCE:  Young Adults

STARS:  2

BOOKS LIKE THIS:  Twilight, Fallen