Totally Psychic

Totally Psychic by Brigid Martin 320 pages

 

Paloma Ferrer is twelve years old. Her world has been turned upside down with an abrupt

 move from Miami to Los Angeles for her father’s job. She hates being taken away from her abuela (grandmother) and the rest of her large Cuban family. S

 

Her abuela is a famous psychic, that is more popular than any movie star. She cannot go anywhere where people do not recognize her (think “The Long Island Medium” Theresa Caputo). Paloma cannot wait to go to develop her “gift” and go on tour with Abuela.

 

Life is tough for a new tween in a new school. She easily makes new friends. Since her mother has rejected her psychic gift and insists that Paloma abandon her gifts. Then Paloma has a brilliant idea: To start a podcast to host seances at school. By accident, she rips a hole in the spiritual portal, leaving her with supernatural mess to clean up that is often comical.

 

I loved this book with the exception of one thing. When Paloma used Spanish words, I either had to figure them out in context (not hard to do in this book) or Google them.  I wish there had been a glossary, but I probably learned more without it.

 

Totally Psychic gets 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Expelled

Expelled by James Patterson & Emily Raymond, 296 pages

“One viral photo. Four expelled teens. Everyone's a suspect. Theo Foster's Twitter account used to be anonymous--until someone posted a revealing photo that got him expelled. No final grade. No future. No fair. Theo's resigned to a life of misery working at the local mini-mart when a miracle happens: Sasha Ellis speaks to him. Sasha Ellis knows his name. She was also expelled for a crime she didn't commit, and now he has the perfect way to get her attention: find out who set them up. To uncover the truth, Theo has to get close to the suspects: the hacker, the quarterback, the mean girl, the vice principal, and his own best friend. What secrets are they hiding? And how can Theo catch their confessions on camera?” This was a little better than some of other Patterson’s books.  It had a little more depth than I’m used to seeing.  I liked it and would recommend it to teens who like realistic fiction.

Modern Romance

Modern Romance  by Aziz Ansari   279 pages

Aziz Ansari has made a living of humorous commentary on the state of modern romance. This book is the blending of his comic insight in tandem with legitimate research conducted worldwide by leading social scientists to determine how, in this day and age, when social media provides unlimited opportunities to meet other people, reality is proving opposing logic. Single people today have more romantic options than at any point in human history. With technology, the ability to connect with and sort through these options is staggering…so why are people frustrated and ultimately not making the connections they anticipated?

Ansari combines his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic world. – I found neither irreverent humor nor cutting-edge nor unforgettable anything to justify this publisher-inspired critique. There are many laugh out loud observations and the international research is interesting, but ultimately, the commentary is repetitive and the study’s conclusions are predictable. Given Ansari’s comedic shtick, I assume listening to his oration in an audio version would be more entertaining than reading a research project that could have been satisfactorily summed up in a fraction of the pages.

Posted By:   Regina C.  

The Affinities

The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson, 300 pages

“In our rapidly-changing world of "social media", everyday people are more and more able to sort themselves into social groups based on finer and finer criteria. In the near future of Robert Charles Wilson's The Affinities, this process is supercharged by new analytic technologies--genetic, brain-mapping, behavioral. To join one of the twenty-two Affinities is to change one's life. It's like family, and more than family. Your fellow members aren't just like you, and they aren't just people who are likely to like you. They're also the people with whom you can best cooperate in all areas of life--creative, interpersonal, even financial.  At loose ends both professional and personal, young Adam Fisk takes the suite of tests to see if he qualifies for any of the Affinities, and finds that he's a match for one of the largest, the one called Tau. It's utopian--at first. Problems in all areas of his life begin to simply sort themselves out, as he becomes part of a global network of people dedicated to helping one another--to helping him.  But as the differing Affinities put their new powers to the test, they begin to rapidly chip away at the power of governments, of global corporations, of all the institutions of the old world. Then, with dreadful inevitability, the different Affinities begin to go to war--with one another.  What happens next will change Adam, and his world, forever.”  Once I started this book I didn’t want to put it down.  The story is really compelling and it’s told very well.  I have to admit, I didn’t see the end coming, which only made it better for me.  I would highly recommend this to people who like a dystopian type of story.

Affinities

The Affinities by Robert Charles Wilson
300 Pages

"In our rapidly-changing world of "social media", everyday people are more and more able to sort themselves into social groups based on finer and finer criteria. In the near future of Robert Charles Wilson's The Affinities , this process is supercharged by new analytic technologies--genetic, brain-mapping, behavioral. To join one of the twenty-two Affinities is to change one's life. It's like family, and more than family. Your fellow members aren't just like you, and they aren't just people who are likely to like you. They're also the people with whom you can best cooperate in all areas of life--creative, interpersonal, even financial. At loose ends both professional and personal, young Adam Fisk takes the suite of tests to see if he qualifies for any of the Affinities, and finds that he's a match for one of the largest, the one called Tau. It's utopian--at first. Problems in all areas of his life begin to simply sort themselves out, as he becomes part of a global network of people dedicated to helping one another--to helping him . But as the differing Affinities put their new powers to the test, they begin to rapidly chip away at the power of governments, of global corporations, of all the institutions of the old world. Then, with dreadful inevitability, the different Affinities begin to go to war--with one another."

An interesting concept that the writer fails to translate into a gripping book, the ending is sort of anticlimatic.

Unfriended

Unfriended by Rachel Vail, 282 pages

When Truly is asked to sit at the popular table she jumps at the chance.  Of course, this means that she has to leave behind her friend, Hazel, who is a little strange and isn’t asked to join them.  Truly is totally excited by her new friends but is nervous about fitting in especially because the girl who invited her, Natasha, was her best friend until 6^th grade.  When Natasha became popular she dropped Truly until now.  But everyone else, Brooke, Lulu and Evangeline are all so nice.  Then strange things start happening online.  First, Natasha is targeted and then Truly.  Will the friendship be able to survive the cyberbullying?  This was an okay book for younger teens who like realistic contemporary stories.