Reviewing Wonderland

Book Two: Sons of Angels series By Jerel Law Synopsis Jonah, Jeremiah, and Eliza Stone are quarterlings, one-quarter angels. Their parents are nephilim, the product of a union between a human and a fallen angel. Half-angels and quarter angels are under the great and mighty Elohim. You may know him better as God. The fallen angels are back again determined to destroy them all. The fallen angels fell from heaven to work for Abaddon, the evil of all evils. The kids discover many new powers and skills during specialized training, as well as gain some new friends with unique gifts of their own. Epic battles are waged between good and evil during their quest to find the key to defeating Abaddon. Will they be able to push back the attack of fallen with the help of Elohim, or will the quarterlings and nephilim be wiped out? My Opinion This book was super cool! The story took on many twists and turns, but I was still able to keep up with ease. The book actually references a lot of Bible verses and passages making it a great read for introducing or enriching religion in a fun and entertaining way. It is perfect for those who crave adventure; many scenes are like battles in the Bible. Each character and story line is very spiritually based. The under tone of the story is that there is only one true God, who strikes down all evil, and helps his children in times of need. This is all balanced with plenty of action and heart-stopping scenes. Very impressive, very well done, and I really enjoyed reading this book! -Kaylee

As far as YA Dystopian novels go, I thought this one was in the higher rankings. Not quite as gripping as Hunger Games, but the character building was satisfactory and the story line solid. Beatrice (Tris) is a well-developed heroine with all the makings of a good YA character; breaking away from a lack-luster upbringing, something that makes her different than her peers, and the inner strength to stand up to it all and come out the other side victorious. The male lead, Four, is equal parts swoon-worthy and badass. Together these two characters suck you in to their unusual world and sweep you away. I started reading this one and couldn't stop. The premise behind the story is that in a post-apocalyptic world, humans decide that there are five distinct reasons that the world crumbled; selfishness, cowardice, deceit, ignorance, and individualism. In order to combat these traits each person must decide, on/after their sixteenth birthday, which trait they believe to be THE ONE that caused the downfall. They then join the faction that devotes their lives to eradicating that bad trait by training in the anti-trait. This gives rise to Abnegation, the faction devoted to serving others and forgetting oneself; Dauntless, the faction devoted to bravery; Candor, devoted to telling and seeking out the truth; Erudite, devoted to gaining knowledge; and Amity, devoted to peacefulness and the common good. People who are able to see and live outside of the factions/ideologies are known as Divergent. My only gripe in this book is that there were several characters introduced in the beginning of the book that were not fully "fleshed out". As a result, I had a hard time following a lot of the inner-workings and movements of the characters and factions. But this smoothed out some as the story picked up and the characters became familiar. Overall a quick and easy read that left me wanting to run off and buy the next book in the series. I am on the edge of my seat to see what will happen next to Tris and Four.

Shadow of Night is the second book in the All Souls Trilogy. This book follows Diana and Matthew de Clermont as they travel into the past to allow Diana to learn her abilities as a witch. Together they discover the extent of Diana's powers and Diana discovers more about Matthew's sordid past. Historical facts and characters are brought to life by Deborah in this painfully accurate step into this series. This book series contains an excellent plot and story line. I am constantly caught up in the characters lives. The author tends to explain each event/place in such great detail however, that it can be difficult to maintain interest until the next plot twist.