Shooting Chant: An Ella Clah Novel

Amazon.com

Former FBI agent, now special investigator with the Navajo Police, Ella Clah knows it's her police training, not the special gift of sensing she's supposed to have inherited from her clan ancestors, that accounts for her unease when troubling things begin happening on the reservation. Lab reports on pregnant women have been stolen from the health clinic, a Navajo guard at the LabKote factory has been murdered, and two native leaders have been kidnapped. The evidence points toward an activist Indian group known as the Fierce Ones, who have been protesting the deal that leaders made with the medical supply company that's on their land. Tensions are running high between the traditionalists and the moderns, the natives who want a return to the old ways and those who embrace the white man's technology to increase their crop yields and improve their brood animals. Not only is Ella stunned to learn that among the masked Fierce Ones is her beloved brother, a healer, but she's just discovered she's pregnant, by a tribal lawyer whose clan has been at odds with her own since the days of their ancestors.

This latest in the increasingly popular Ella Clah series (Death Walker, Bad Medicine, Enemy Way) packs enough action into one slim novel to satisfy readers used to the more cerebral novels of Tony Hillerman and others writing crime fiction featuring Native American heroes. Like them, the Thurlos put a lot of Indian lore into their books and focus on characters who struggle to live in two cultures but are never fully embraced by either. Ella Clah is a thoroughly modern career woman, but her loyalty to her heritage runs strong and deep, making for a richly explicated interior life that is more fully realized by the Thurlos than many of their peers in the genre. If you haven't met Ella before, her newest adventure will have you scrambling for her previous ones. This deft, fast-paced read pulses with danger and excitement on every page. --Jane Adams

Book Description

Once and FBI agent, Ella Clah is now a Special Investigator with the Navajo Police. She walks a tightrope between the Navajo and white worlds, fully accepted by neither but needed by both. Ella's brother, Clifford, a hataali or medicine man, says that her investigative skills are a gift from the spirits who guard and guide the Dineh, but Ella insists it's her FBI training that has honed her instincts.Ella's life is about to change in ways she can barely begin to imagine--she is newly pregnant, and though she knows who the father is, she will not marry him. In Navajo society, her child will be of her clan, and will be accepted by her family, no matter what--but how can she stay a police officer, exposing herself and her unborn child to terrible danger day after day?Given her current caseload, it's hard for Ella to put off making a final decision about her career. There's a near-riot at LabKote, a factory on the Reservation that produces high-quality vessels for medical labs. The Fierce Ones, an activist group of Navajo, are insisting that more native workers be hired by the firm--including a Navajo replacement for a manager recently found dead in his car, an apparent suicide. A sniper shoots at Ella as she drives to another crime scene--the home of State Senator James Yellowhair, who has been kidnapped.Feuding between traditionalist and modernist elements in the Navajo nation heats up with sabotage, vandalism, and murder, spurred by a rise in birth defects among the Dineh's livestock and rustling of sheep and cattle. Ella's personal concerns mount when officers investigating a break-in at the health clinic discover that the records of several pregnant women--including Ella--are missing. Then one of the pregnant women is murdered......

Customer Reviews:

Not the best by the Thurlo team.......2004-01-21

Too much pregnancy.............
I have read most of the Ella Clah series, including some that come after this one. All have been excellent and read by both my husband and myself. I am only halfway through, but am thoroughly put off by the baby this, baby that, ad nauseum. I do not think I will suggest that my husband bother with this one. The Thurlo team are very good at providing lots of insight into the Navaho culture, but this is not one of their better efforts.

Disappointed.......2001-07-04

I enjoyed the first novels by the Thurlos but I have been very disappointed in the last two Ella Clah novels. I could not understand why they bothered me until I realized the Ella seems to get getting more Anglo in each novel. For as long as she has been back on the Rez and the types of cases she has been dealing with, i.e. skin walkers, I expected her to be more accepting of her heritage but she totally denies it even though her fetish seems to warn her when there is danger. A disappointing read. I doubt if I will buy Red Mesa.

Disappointing.......2001-04-23

As a big fan of Tony Hillerman, I was extremely excited about new mysteries from the Four Corners region. I was extremely disappointed by this effort. The dialogue is poorly written, the storyline tedious, and, unlike Hillerman, many of the numerous subplots have no bearing on the conclusion. The ending lacks credulity, and the characters are thin and stereotypical. Buy this book only in paperback or as a special from a Mystery book club.

Shooting Chant.......2000-10-03

This is the best book in the Ella series. It is sure nice to read a book set in the southwest that shows the real southwest. Some authors do not have a clue about New Mexico. The Thurlos have done excellent research. The book is an excellent example of this and is a great read.

Ella returns.......2000-07-07

I've been a fan of the Ella Clah novels from the beginning, and they just keep getting better and better. This one combines a complex mystery and Ella's personal problems. Even having a baby isn't entirely a personal matter when you factor in the relationships among the Navajo clans and the legendary past of Ella's family. The Thurlos do a terrific job of showing us the problems and conflicts of modern Navajo life. Lots of familiar characters return with Ella: her colleagues Justine, Big Ed and Doctor Roanhorse, her family Rose, Clifford and Lorretta, and her friends Kevin and Wilson. I'm already looking forward to the next adventure, to find out how the realities of motherhood affect Ella's life and career.

Surrogate Evil: A Lee Nez Novel (Lee Nez)

Average customer rating:

Loved it!!!
Under cover work
Surrogate Evil: A Lee Nex Novel
So little action!
combination horror with a police procedural

Surrogate Evil: A Lee Nez Novel (Lee Nez)
Aimee Thurlo , and David Thurlo
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765316153
Release Date: 2006-11-28

Book Description

It’s frustrating for local law enforcement to come up against a piece of scum like Newton Glover. He’s dirty as hell, everyone knows that—breaks into and vandalizes his neighbors’ homes; cheats and steals from everyone; folks suspect he deals drugs and porn. He’s even killed a man and gotten away with it. He gets away with all of it, hinting that he has a secret government background and that he’s “protected” by the Powers That Be.

Glover may finally have gone too far. He’s suspected of kidnapping a young teenage boy to use for child porn and a pedophile sex-ring. There’s no proof, but this time, Albuquerque police are determined to nail Glover to the wall.

Lee Nez, a Navajo state police officer, and Diane Lopez, an FBI agent, go undercover in Glover’s trailer park. Lee and Diane find that their growing attraction for each other is heightened by their posing as husband and wife, but do not allow that to distract them from their mission. They soon learn that not long ago, Glover’s neighbors tried to take the law into their own hands—they dragged Glover from his home and beat him to death, leaving him in a shallow grave.

To everyone’s shock, a few days later Glover reappeared with not a mark on him. Lee and Diane are no strangers to the supernatural—Lee is a Navajo vampire and Diane’s last FBI partner was killed by a werewolf. Whatever Glover is, they’ll deal with it.

When a second child goes missing and clues link her to Glover, Lee and Diane know they are running out of time. Glover may be some kind of un-dead, but soon those children will be really dead, or worse.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it!!!.......2007-05-12

This is the first book by the Thurlo's for me. I got it yesterday and finished it today!!!! I loved it!!! So very entertaining!!! I read until 1:30 last night. I will be reading more of their books.

Under cover work.......2007-03-07

I don't think this was good an effort as the previous books, but still is good for the series. This outing Lee Nez and his girlfriend,Diane Lopez, also an FBI agent, go undercover to rescue a boy who was kidnapped and to thwart a man who is a mean sonofagun, and is delving into illegal stuff, porn, drugs, etc. The battle starts between Nez, Diane, and this guy Glover. They provoke Glover and he retaliates time and time again. There isn't much of Indian folklore in this outing, which I miss. Nor is there much vamp stuff, other than Lee's night vision, speed, and quick healing. No calf blood around.
This book may not pop like others, but strengthens the bond between Lee and Diane.

Surrogate Evil: A Lee Nex Novel.......2007-02-19

Good read. This addition to the series depends more on police work than on the supernatural; and while I'm happy with both, I did feel the Thurlos were on more solid footing in their writing here. Maybe they should continue in this style. I'm game!

So little action!.......2007-01-16

I've been following this series since they came out and out of the four books already out this one was the slowest one when it came to action and fights. The way the main characters relationship has been played was well done, but the book overall left me wanting for something that wasn't there...maybe next one.

combination horror with a police procedural .......2006-12-09

One of the advantages of being a half-vampire working for the New Mexico State Police is that Lee Nez's powers make it easier for him to work a case. Lee and his sometimes partner FBI special agent Diana Lopez are able to solve a case quicker with less danger to civilians. After busting men on various charges that are connected to a senator, Lee and Diane are advised to get out of the area for a while. They are assigned to take down Newton Glover a man who has intimidated the East Mountain area and is suspected of various crimes.

It is believed he has authorities in various agencies working for him so Lee and Diana move into the trailer across the way from his pretending to be tough criminals. When Lee sees him watching them through surveillance, he breaks the man's windshield in the hope that Newton will try to get even and they will have something to arrest him on. They are also investigating the disappearances of ten year old Tim Klein who Grover might have kidnapped. When Newton tries to kill Lee, with Diane as a witness, Newton knows he will have to murder both of them before they can get obtain evidence to put him away.

The Latest Lee Nez combination horror mystery police procedural is a reading experience on the wild side with so many adrenaline inducing scenes that readers will feel thoroughly spoiled. The Thurlos have a take on the vampire mythos based on Navaho legends and myths and Lee is so unlike Bram Stoker's Dracula that the two characters don't resemble each other in the slightest. Lee is one hero who makes his life and his to keep the area he patrols safe. Diana, who knows what Lee is, loves him because he is a good man who works for the good of society.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

Offbeat masterpiece
Worthwhile read!
Spectacularly mediocre and disappointing
Dark, quirky, disturbing -- brilliant!
Okay...

An Invisible Sign of My Own: A Novel
Aimee Bender
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385492243
Release Date: 2001-07-17

Amazon.com

Aimee Bender's funny, delicately shaded first novel is a constant delight, even at its most warped. An Invisible Sign of My Own tells the story of Mona Gray, a math wiz and a high school track star, whose ordinary childhood comes to pieces when her father is stricken with a mysterious illness. There doesn't seem to be a name for it, but he looks sort of gray and seems frail and unhappy. Whether there's anything really wrong with Mona's dad is unclear, but her fear that he will die, as well as his withdrawal from family life--no more vacations, no running practice with his daughter, no unplanned outings--triggers a corresponding withdrawal in her. Whenever she does well at anything, or starts to enjoy herself, she quits: piano class, dancing lessons, her first boyfriend, running.

I quit dessert to see if I could do it; of course I could; I quit breathing one evening until my lungs overruled; I quit touching my skin, sleeping with both hands under the pillow. When no one was home, I tied ropes around the piano, so that it would take me thirty minutes with scissors to get back to that minuet. Then I hid all the scissors.

Instead of working out her problems, Mona develops a habit of knocking on wood, and sometimes knocks for an hour before getting to sleep. Eating soap is her other dark indulgence: a surefire anti-aphrodisiac that she calls on whenever she feels sexually attracted to a man.

At 20, Mona is recruited to teach math at the local elementary school. To her surprise, she is a brilliant teacher, making addition and subtraction tangible to second graders with a game called Numbers and Materials, in which the students bring in natural or man-made objects that take the form of numbers. When 7-year-old Lisa Venus brings in a zero made of IV tubing from her dying mother's hospital room, Mona recognizes a kindred spirit. But she will have to be healthy herself to help Lisa resist her urge to take on her mother's illness out of grief and loyalty. The complicated connection between children and adults is the underlying theme of this big-hearted novel. However quirky and alarming Bender's methods may seem, An Invisible Sign of My Own is no darker than a fairy tale, and the witch--even if it's the witch within--is reliably vanquished in the end. --Regina Marler

Book Description

Aimee Bender’s stunning debut collection, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, proved her to be one of the freshest voices in American fiction. Now, in her first novel, she builds on that early promise.

Mona Gray was ten when her father contracted a mysterious illness and she became a quitter, abandoning each of her talents just as pleasure became intense. The only thing she can’t stop doing is math: She knocks on wood, adds her steps, and multiplies people in the park against one another. When Mona begins teaching math to second-graders, she finds a ready audience. But the difficult and wonderful facts of life keep intruding. She finds herself drawn to the new science teacher, who has an unnerving way of seeing through her intricately built façade. Bender brilliantly directs her characters, giving them unexpected emotional depth and setting them in a calamitous world, both fancifully surreal and startlingly familiar.

Customer Reviews:

Offbeat masterpiece.......2007-01-06

This book takes you into a world of pain, loneliness and insanity from which you may never recover. In other words, it's one of the best books I've ever read.

Aimee Bender's first novel is one of those offbeat reads that frees you from the constraints of your everyday life and makes you view the world from a different kind of perspective. These kinds of books are worth more than diamonds or gold because they expand your mind into new areas that you would otherwise be too preoccupied with your own life to visit. Therefore, this story, which is essentially not really about any particular event, but rather a state of mind, is a true gem. Dan Brown might entertain you for a couple of days, but Aimee Bander will change the way you view yourself and the world around you. Hey, you might even start wearing wax numbers on a necklace around your chest. I'm wearing a 26 as I write this.

A definite Five stars for this book. Anybody with a fragile spirit and a big heart should read it.

Worthwhile read!.......2006-09-09

I bought this book about 5 years ago and I still considerate it to be one of my favorite reads! Bender is amazing in this novel. The main character is original, fresh, and smart. I definitely recommend this novel to all curious readers!

Spectacularly mediocre and disappointing.......2006-02-27

I must admit, the setup that Aimee Bender constructs is fascinating: a girl in a claustrophobic town with a strangely beautiful glass hospital quits everything she adores until her routine is disrupted by the threat of her carefully sheltered world coming crashing down. However, the array of what start out as endearingly delicious quirks in Mona and the townspeople can't sustain themselves and become tiresome and forced by the end of the book. I simply could not find it within myself to care for the fates of any of the characters, whose actions and fates are all too trite and predictable.

The most frustrating thing about this book is glimpsing the potential that it failed to live up to. The book seems to awkwardly straddle the line between the grippingly realistic and the delightfully dreamlike. It would have been effective either way, but in the middle ground it seemed to take, An Invisible Sign of My Own was dull and bizarre.

One of the many plot weaknesses pertains to Mona's professed adour for math, which seems to supplemented by a knowledge nothing more complex than long division, despite a high school education. And the question of Mona's education leads to a entirely new debacle of how she is qualified to be any sort of teacher. This could very well be nitpicking, but Bender certainly doesn't seem to have done her research or have constructed a world convincingly magical enough for a reader to overlook illogical characterizations and plot twists. Mona herself comes off as irritating in her self-destructive self-pity rather than sympathetic. Her students are laughably (and not in a good way) precocious, wholly unrealistic without being interesting, and not at all endearing. Her love interest has little depth besides the plot device role he is assigned.

I could not help thinking of the whole plot as a uncompelling and unskilled rehashing of Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver, which I'd have gladly reread rather than waste my time on this one. This whole book reeks of trying too hard.

Dark, quirky, disturbing -- brilliant!.......2005-10-26

Having read her short stories, I had to get my hands on Aimee Bender's novel. An Invisible Sign of My Own is much like her short fiction collections -- disturbing, quirky and bizarre. I love the aforementioned qualities in a literary novel and this story is one of the most unique and disarming ones I have read in quite a while. There is no certainty whether or not Mona Gray's father is ill or not, but that is what befalls her father, a mysterious illness that sometimes comes across as a phantom disease. Mona finds it difficult to function in her every day life and school activities. So she sets out to sabotage whatever normalcy she may encounter for a period amount of time. She develops all sorts of strange habits, which includes eating soap to kill her sexual attraction for a man. But things change for her when she becomes an elementary school teacher and meets a rather unique seven-year-old girl whose mother is terminally ill. Mona may have found a kindred spirit in both their respective ailing parents and their own inner demons. There are many twists throughout the novel.

This is truly one of the darkest novels I have read in a long time. The language is quirky and warped to the max and the protagonist is someone you will have mixed feelings about. She is someone who possesses wonderful, albeit alarming qualities and you can almost sympathize with the strange workings of her mind. I think she suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Some of her behavior, which includes knocking on wood repeatedly and eating inedible items, is not unlike someone who has the aforementioned mental illness. I also got the impression that her father's ailment may have been a figment of her imagination. Either that or her father is actually a hypochondriac. That part of the story is subject to interpretation. Underneath all the weirdness, An Invisible Sign of My Own is a wonderful coming-of-age tale that will move the reader to the core. This isn't an easy book to read. You have to go beneath the surface and discover the different messages within the novel. Aimee Bender has once again impressed me with this effort. Her style is quite similar to that of Amanda Filipacchi, Banana Yoshimoto and Linn Ullmann. If you enjoy surrealistic fiction, I recommend this novel as well as Bender's short story collections, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and Willful Creatures. These cannot be missed!

Okay..........2005-07-06

This book is well-written. That's all you'll get I think when you read this. I enjoyed it because the writer said things and well. The book doesn't have a central conflict and it doesn't have an ending which really ends -- the story just stops.

It's not a bad story though -- I enjoyed it because it's weird, and it's psychologically weird, something akin to Steve Martin's "The Pleasure of My Company." If you're into reading about odd behaviors and interesting viewpoints and ways of dealing with things, I'd reccommend this to you.

But if odd stuff makes you uncomfortable, drop the book, and for heaven's sake please don't write a review about it.

Average customer rating:

Whether you believe or not!
Sink your teeth into this savory book
strong horror thriller

Pale Death: A Lee Nez Novel (Lee Nez)
David Thurlo , and Aimee Thurlo
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765313855
Release Date: 2005-09-15

Book Description

A string of mysterious, gruesome deaths in the Shiprock area has attracted the attention of FBI agent Diane Lopez. She believes the killer is a vampirebut the only vampire she knows of is Lee Nez, a State Police officer who prefers his blood chilled from the refrigerator, not hot from someones neck. The victims all worked for a secret government lab, experimenting on a captured vampire. When the vampire, Stewart Tanner, broke free, he avenged himself on the doctors and technicians who had been torturing him. Now he is threatening US government officials, and his vampire abilities make him a nearly invulnerable assassin. If Lee and Diane cant stop Tanner, they will have to kill him, something Lee is reluctant to do. After all, Lee might be the next vampire in the lab.

Customer Reviews:

Whether you believe or not!.......2007-03-13

Whether you believe in vampires or not,is not important in this enjoyable read. This was my first Thurlo novel and I enjoyed it. Although at times I thought it was too long, with no action, but I did enjoy the storyline and plot.(Have you ever read a novel and just wanted to find out what was going to happen? That was what it was like at times when I was reading this novel.) It is a simple, yet at times, complicated plot.... A man (Stewart Tanner) is being held and experimented on by a secret government organization because he appears to have a sensitivity to light, extraordinary healing powers and strength. The people who are holding him "seem" to believe he is a vampire or at least believe that there is something worth risking their lives for to find out. You aren't sure who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Anyway, Mr. Tanner escapes during a power outage and goes on a murderous rampage to "payback" those that tormented him. Hawk (Leo Hawk aka Lee Nez aka half Navajo/half vampire) is on the case with his trusted partner and girlfriend (although no romance happened, with the exception of stolen glances) Diane Lopez. There are a few other surprises that I am not going to spoil for the reader, but I am interested enough to read another Thurlo novel.

Sink your teeth into this savory book.......2005-10-28

The Lee Nez novels featuring duh Lee Nez, who now calls himself in the present, Leo Hawk, has a continued quality of excellence. The Thurlos, as many others, have other series with other characters, but Lee Nez appealed more to me - see, he's a half-vampire - ravaged by a vampire, he goes to a medicine man who knows how to counteract the curse to let Lee be able to function in the daylight hours (with lots of sunblock) and to be able to eat and drink like normal - although he likes a good drink of calf blood now and then - He's a functioning vampire -
His partner, now turned to partner/girlfriend, is Diane Lopez - she knows his secret and partners with him very well.
Pale Death deals with a secret government experiment testing the healing properties of a real vampire - who in truth is tortured and is truly driven into a mad killing rage - you kind of see both sides to the vampire thing -
Also in this series, there is a lot of Indian lore, which is rich and based on earth and elements and dignity.
This series keeps getting better - a great read.

strong horror thriller .......2005-10-04

State police officer Leo Hawk, once known as Lee Nez, is a Navaho half vampire who frequently works with FBI agent Diane Lopez who knows what he is and cares about him anyway. They are called to a crime scene where three people are staked and bite marks are on their neck. They trace the works to a nearby top secret federal facility where vampire Stewart Tanner, a full fledged vampire was being held against his will.

Experiments were conducted on him that were painful and could be considered torture. Eventually he went insane and when he was able to escape he killed his captors and is now going after federal employees. Dianne and Lee are assigned to the case and Lee has the best chance of catching him even though he is only a half vampire and Tanner is stronger and faster than him. As the body count mounts, Lee knows he has to work faster to take Tanner down but it is difficult when he has to hold back his true nature because he is working with mortals that will use him to experiment on if they discover he is a half vampire.

Navaho culture is woven into the vampire legend and what results is a fantastic storyline that is creatively different than most vampire stories. Lee is a good man who protects mortals from the evil vampires that want to kill or turn humans. His sense of justice is strong and as a result he recognizes that there are good vampires in the world and he has no reason to go after them. PALE DEATH will appeal to horror and mystery fans as well as those who love to read tales that are refreshingly original.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

Outstanding Novel - A Must Read
Wonderfully written, difficult to put down!
Harem Life
A terrific book
Not worth it!

Valide: A Novel of the Harem
Barbara Chase-Riboud
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0688043348

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding Novel - A Must Read.......2003-12-16

An excellent interpretation of the fascinating story of Aimee Dubuc de Rivery. I'm a believer. This is one of the four books I have read and enjoyed that mentioned this fleeting mystery figure in history. Three of the four were primarily about this character, and one made her a supporting character. This book is my favorite of the four. It's very vivid, inspiring, romantic, wonderful, and sexy. Through this novel I was transported to the Turkish Ottoman Empire and behind the forbidden walls of the harem. I was caught up in the intrigue and struggles for power and survival, the opulence, the danger, and the idea of a fate that is not entirely your own to choose. I highly, highly recommend this book. If you love historical fiction with strong women characters, intrigue, luxury, inspiration... read this book. I love it. One of my new favorites.

Wonderfully written, difficult to put down!.......2001-01-26

Love, sex, intrigue, friendship...and all of it happening in a far, far away land! What else could a person ask for in a book? This is an incredibly detail-rich tale that alllows one's imagination to run wild. While there's no way to actually verify the most minute details of the working of a real harem (no one I know has been to one), it's easy to allow the book to create powerful imagery in one's mind. I loved this book, and read it quite a few times. A great read, a good addition for your fiction library, and TOTALLY engrossing!

Harem Life.......2000-12-23

A wonderful book about the inner-workings of the Harem. Ms.Chase-Riboud must have put an incredible amount of time and effort into her research. The story flows like water and keeps your attention from begining to end. I highly recommend the book!

A terrific book.......2000-02-25

Not just an historical tale, but a meditation on the contradictions of privilege and power within oppression. Powerfully written, erotic in places, and always capable of putting the reader into the time and place. Chase-Riboud also wrote the novel _Sally Hemmings_ which was much better than the made-for-TV movie (for which she got no credit).

Not worth it!.......1999-10-08

This book is full of things that would never have happened in the Sultan's Harem in Istanbul. 1.) No woman would be presented to the Sultan without being trained. She would usually catch his eye first before being presented. 2.) No woman in the Harem would be seen by the Sultan holding her Rosary. The author says that Nakshidil is not Aimee duBuq de Rivery, but the women in the Harem lost their identity when they entered and they were given new names and the new names were the names they were known by. I read parts to my sister who lived in Istanbul for 10 years and she said it would not have happened that way.

Blood Retribution: A Lee Nez Novel (Lee Nez)

Average customer rating:

fantastic horror mystery thriller

Blood Retribution: A Lee Nez Novel (Lee Nez)
Aimee Thurlo , and David Thurlo
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0765304422
Release Date: 2004-09-09

Book Description

Lee Nez is a nightwalker-a Navajo vampire-and a New Mexico state police officer. Investigating cop-killing smugglers who are bringing in jewels and silver from Mexico, Lee is teamed once again with sexy FBI agent Diane Lopez, who knows Lee is a vampire and is attracted to him nonetheless. The smugglers are Navajo shapeshifters or skinwalkers-and the cop and the FBI agent must kill them all without revealing that the smugglers are werewolves or that Lee is a vampire. Complicating matters, Lee is being stalked by a pair of vampire assassins who want revenge on him for killing their leader.

Customer Reviews:

fantastic horror mystery thriller .......2004-09-29

He is a nightwalker, a Navaho vampire who because he is only half Nosferatu has the strength not to succumb to the allure of the dark side of his nature. He is a New Mexico state police officer who is often teamed up with beautiful FBI agent Diane Lopez who not only knows what Lee Nez is but accepts him for his good heart. Right now they are trying to infiltrate a smuggling ring made up of skinwalkers (Navaho witches) who can shape shift at night and still retain their ability to think like a human.

These smugglers known as the Silver Eagles go to Mexico in animal form, meet with their suppliers, and return with silver and turquoise for jewelry suppliers who get their products at black market prices. The two cops seek to arrest humans who are part of the smuggling ring and kill the shapeshifters so they no longer can carry out their evil plans. While Diane and Lee stalk the Silver Eagles, they are hunted by a vampire who wants to kill them because they murdered her nest including her husband and brother. They remain on guard at all times because beside each other they don't know who they can trust.

Once again the Thurlos provide readers their interpretation of the vampire mythos unique to the Navaho culture. Lee can stay in sunlight provided he uses sun block while his speed, strength and night vision make him a better police officer. In the Thurlos world, skinwalkers are evil creatures who must be killed; a variation on the hapless victim werewolf legend. BLOOD RETRIBUTION is a fantastic horror mystery thriller that readers of these genres will want to read.

Harriet Klausner

Second Sunrise: A Lee Nez Novel (Lee Nez)

Average customer rating:

Second Sunrise: A Lee Nez Novel
Good entry into the genre
A Good Introduction
Fresh Twist on Vampires But Doesn't Cut It
And I Thought It Would Never End!

Second Sunrise: A Lee Nez Novel (Lee Nez)
Aimee Thurlo , and David Thurlo
Manufacturer: Forge Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0765343673
Release Date: 2004-11-02

Book Description

New Mexico State Police Officer Lee Nez is a nightwalker, a Navajo vampire. Thanks to the quick work of a Navajo shaman, Lee can walk about in the day and prefers his blood refrigerated-but his vampire nature makes him a magnet for other supernatural entities. Take his current cases. Lee suspects that the vampire who created him during World War II is back in the US, searching for a cache of stolen plutonium. And Lee's being stalked by the remnants of a pack of skinwalkers-Navajo shapeshifters-who are literally out for his blood. When the FBI shows up, in the person of the very attractive Diane Lopez, Lee's problems only increase. He can't tell Diane that the case she's looking into involves skinwalkers or that its his supernatural abilities that make him such a great cop. And teaming up with Lee could be very hazardous to her health.

Customer Reviews:

Second Sunrise: A Lee Nez Novel.......2006-09-01

This is the first book in a series of three--so far. Lots of Navajo culture and
beliefs are incorporated into an exciting mystery based in New Mexico. Authors
write in a pleasing manner. You forget about your problems when you become
involved in this great read.

Good entry into the genre.......2006-02-17

This book introduces us to a Navajo police officer who is turned into a vampire by an evil Nazi. His condition is mitigated by a "medicine man" who dilutes the "virus" that causes vampirism. This vampire detective follows the footsteps of such vampires as Nick Knight, but isn't burdoned with guilt. That is a nice change.

His partner is a strong, competent woman, who is so without being "over the top" and unbelievable.

Personally, this was one of the few books I have recently read that I had trouble putting down. I would recommend it. It had action, adventure, romance.

A Good Introduction.......2005-06-23

I enjoyed reading Second Sunrise. It introduced the characters, who are interesting, and set up the reader for the second book. I look forward to the rest of the books in this series.

Fresh Twist on Vampires But Doesn't Cut It.......2005-01-08

Second Sunrise is a new serial by the Thurlo team. They have over 30 books to their credit. I am not sure what happened here.

Second Sunrise begins on a dark night in the secluded hills of Fort Wingate, New Mexico, when state patrolman Lee Nez's life is forever altered. Lee and his rookie partner Benny interrupt a military ambush massacre. Benny is murdered and Lee is mortally injured. Lee wakes a new man, a nightwalker, which apparently is the Navajo word for vampire.

The story jumps to sixty years later. Lee continues to search for the nightwalker who transformed him and to fend off the skinwalkers who want the immortal properties of his blood. Skinwalker is a term for Navajo witches able to shapeshift into wolves.

Just when you thought that every vampire story had been told, the Thurlos come out with a fresh twist. Second Sunrise is no Dracula and the Thurlos are no Bram Stoker. I love vampire stories. I didn't like this book, at least not as a whole.

There was much about the story that I enjoyed. The supporting character FBI Agent Diane Lopez is strong, confident and can hold her own despite the gravity of the situations in which she finds herself. The premise of Navajo magic and the ancient history behind it and its people is intriguing and well presented, describing cultural cues like finger pointing and waiting outside to be invited in.

Unfortunately, I found the first chapters slow and tedious. From the jacket cover I already knew someone was going to die and that Lee would become a nightwalker. This section took too long to get to the point. Throughout the novel there was a lot of telling going on. Too much time was spent talking about personality traits instead of showing them through actions. This made it difficult to connect with the lead character positively or negatively, therefore there was no emotional involvement with him, his life or his actions.

Second Sunrise was overly repetitive. Benny's death and the young bride and infant son he leaves behind are mentioned four times in the first 83 pages. Totally unnecessary and irritating. The story isn't so involved that the reader wouldn't remember a driving force such as this. There are many other instances of this kind of repetition.

The language reflected this redundancy, with overused phrases, unnecessarily mundane details, and facts pointed out to the reader evident within the scene. All these details make it seem as though readers have short attention spans.

I believe this could have been an exciting addition to the vampire genre. I just think it was released too soon. So much more could have been done with it. It needs to be tidied up. Perhaps it would have helped to have the point of view in first person. If you want to read a different twist on the vampire story then pick this up but if you want a gripping tale with believable characters you can sympathize with and be moved by, this isn't it.

Review Originally Posted at http://www.linearreflections.com

And I Thought It Would Never End!.......2004-03-23

This book tumbled out of my hands and hit the floor about the point that the female FBI Agent and the female Vampire began to insult one another about their respective weights. That has to be a new low in vampire fiction. The other times the book fell out of my hands was because I could no longer keep my eyes open as Nez and Lopez have long pointless conversations with the occasional coy romantic comment. I think that the FBI agent who was killed early in the book got off easily compared to those of us who stayed to the end.

The authors cannot resist hopping on every new bandwagon that goes by, unfortunately they forget to get off the old bandwagons. Therefore, in this book we have a female FBI agent out to avenge her dead partner, skinwalkers (sort of Navaho Werewolves), German vampires, and a Navaho vampire state cop also out to avenge his dead partner (who was killed in 1945). All of the characters are one dimensional at best.

The skinwalkers are inherently evil and hunt vampires for no discernable purpose except the authors needed some action to propel the story to its next stage. The German vampires are equally purposeless except they want to get their hands on a case that might (no one really knows for sure) contain uranium or plutonium or something radioactive-- so much of this book is just two characters who have no facts engaging in fruitless speculation.

Let's not forget the writing. There is a lot of telling and not showing with strange moments of exposition that make me think that the authors had suddenly thought of something they should have mentioned earlier, so they jam it into the conversation whether it feels natural-- if any of the conversation in this book seems natural-- or not.

Book Description

Transporting readers to the menacing yet majestic world of eighteenth-century Turkey, biographer and Middle East expert Janet Wallach brilliantly re-imagines the life of Aimee Dubucq, cousin of Empress Josephine, in her first novel Seraglio.

At the age of thirteen, when en route from France to her home in Martinique, Aimee Dubucq is kidnapped by Algerian pirates. Blonde and blue-eyed, the genteel young girl is a valuable commodity, and she is soon placed in service in the Seraglio - the Ottoman Sultan’s private world - in Topkapi Palace. As Dubucq, renamed Nakshidil ("embroidered on the heart") discovers the erotic secrets that win favor of kings and deftly learns the affairs of the empire, she struggles to retain her former identity, including her Catholic faith. Overtime Nakshidil becomes the intimate of several powerful sultans: wife to one, lover and confidante to another, and adoptive mother to a third. Her life often treads the tenuous line between sumptuous pleasures and mere survival until her final years when she is awarded control of the harem as the valide, mother of the Sultan.

With phenomenal research and a mesmerizing voice, Janet Wallach provides a powerful and passionate glimpse of East-West history through one woman’s distinctly European eyes.

Customer Reviews:

Sultry, Salacious, Sordid, Seraglio.......2007-01-21

These are the things that comes to mind when we think of a seraglio, but it's nothing compared to the rich decadence, the luxury, the subtle sensuality of Wallach's story, which takes place inside the forbidding walls of the celebrated Topkapi Palace in the heart of Istanbul, the capital of the Turkish Empire.

Wallach's little book transports us to the forbidden world of a Turkish harem, where in spite its alluring splendor, it's also a dangerous place ridden with secret intrigues, betrayals, and deadly secrets. The story is told by Tulip, the eunuch slave who becomes Nakshidil's best friend and confidant.

Nakshidil journey from a noble girl born in Martinique (when she was Aimee), captured by pirates in the Atlantic, sold as a slave in Algiers, and given as a present to the Sultan himself, where she becomes a concubine and ending her life as the mother of the future sultan of Turkey is truly a remarkable.

Giving the nature of this novel and its surroundings, Wallach resists the temptation of making this story too graphic or too vulgar or otherwise obscene. The descriptions of the Topkapi palace are described with fantastic details, but the story spins around Nashkidil and her immediate friends and enemies.

In spite of her amazing story, for some reason, I tend to like Tulip better than Aimee/Nashkidil, whose life have had some amazing turns too.

Father Chrysostomos is not the same Father Chrysostomos of Smyrna, the unfortunate metropolitan of the Orthodox Church who was brutally assassinated by a Turkish mob in 1922.

An interesting book indeed, better than I had anticipated. I hope someone makes a move based on this story.

5 "decadent" stars

One to keep in my library for a long time!.......2005-12-16

I absolutely loved this book. Being fascinated by Mozarts opera "The Abduction from the Seraglio," I wanted to learn more about the harem. So I found this book and couldn't put it down once I got it! I think it is very cleverly written, with Tuplip (her eunich) narrating the story. I thought Wallach did an excellent job with writing about Aimee. The Seraglio life is depicted very well, and I felt as though I was taken back in time. Her mentions of Mozart's opera from time to time was a cool touch and well done (and also very appropriate in many ways). I found this to be a fascinating and interesting read, and I am now reading it again for the second time.

A Thoroughly Enjoyable Read.......2004-09-04

I really enjoyed reading Seraglio. The descriptions of the Turkish palaces and people were very well done - very colorful - and felt like it transported me back in time.

I feel as though it was well written, and liked that Tulip, Nakshidil's eunich, was narrating the story. It brings the reader through practically her entire life and the many changes that took place during the Ottoman Empire.

This is a book well worth reading!

Fascinating Look into A Most Influential Woman.......2003-12-03

Judging from the reviews for this book here on amazon.com, my expectations for this book weren't very high. However, last week I needed something to read and got this book from my library, not expecting a wonderful read but at least something to get me through the next few days or weeks. Was I wrong.
Seraglio is an excellent book. The story centers on Aimee du Buc de Rivery, a refined young lady on her way home to Martinique from France whose ship is plundered by pirates. The thirteen-year-old fair beauty is presented to the bey of Algiers, who presents Aimee to the Ottoman sultan. Refined and educated in the ways of the Western world Aimee is renamed Nakshidil and enters her golden prison. The Seraglio. At first, Aimee is stubborn and refuses to follow the rhythms and rules that operate the harem, a world within itself. However, she soon learns that if she behaves that way longer, she will meet a horrible fate. And so Nakshidil sets out to be educated in the ways of the harem and Islam, mastering the many forms of dance and seduction and how to please the sultan both sexually and through cooking and charm. The narrator of the story is Nakshidil's closest friend, the black eunuch, Tulip. Eventually, Nakshidil is called to the sultan's bed but soon enough, the sultan is dead and Nakshidil must set out for the Old Palace, a miserable palace set-aside for the harem girls after their sultan dies and a new sultan moves in with his own harem. Nakshidil believes her career is over but the new sultan, Selim III, is enthralled and enchanted with Nakshidil's French ways, her French ideas, and her French cooking. Instead of bedding Nakshidil, the two converse for hours on end each night about Western ideas. However, the idea of Western ideas entering the Ottoman Empire strikes fear into the hearts of many of the Turkish people, endangering both Selim and Nakshidil. And so the story unfolds, an epic of danger, deceit, murder, and a glitzy and extravagant life showered in satin and jewels. I enjoyed reading Tulip's account of his closest friend and the only harem girl who showed him compassion, Nakshidil.
There were some glitches in the plot. Sometimes the huge gaps were puzzling, sometimes years at a time were skipped over which meant we lost that much of Nakshidil's life. Sometimes characters arrived and disappeared quickly and often characters could be confused do to their infrequent mentioning and their titles they were known by. Their were other little things, such as Nakshidil corresponding with her cousin, Rose de Beauharnais (the later Josephine Bonaparte), which probably would not have happened but it lended to the plot of the story and depicted a more sneaky and secretive side of Nakshidil.
But overall, the story was wonderful. You really did feel for the characters. You can't help but feel sad at the point of Peretsu's shocking and barbaric death or hate the despicable Aysha, Nakshidil's lifetime rival in the harem. You feel for the characters and their losses and loves and emotions. Also, the descriptions were wonderful. Everything down to the tiling of the harem floors was described and most extravagantly Nakshidil's outfits were described from her emerald earrings to her blue kaftans to her high-heeled bath shoes. The settings and the language also made the book enjoyable. The exotic and sultry harem and the new Turkish vocabulary all made the story more cultural and enjoyable.
I liked this book a lot and was happy I did get it after all. I finished it in only six days...I couldn't put it down!

This Book Rates Zero Stars.......2003-06-26

This book was awful! I'm amazed how an intriguing story like this can be told so poorly. With every page I groan out loud. Skip this book and read Sultana by Prince Michael of Greece instead.

Average customer rating:

Good but your typical teen novel
This book captured " my heart "!!!!!!!
Is 3 stars too generous?
couldn't put it down!
Kind of book you can't put down

A Novel Idea (Simon Romantic Comedies)
Aimee Friedman
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 1416907858

Book Description

Required reading has never been so hot.

Once upon a time there was a Brooklyn hipster named Norah. Unlucky in love, and short on extracurriculars for her college apps, Norah decided to start a book group. She knew the perfect locale -- a local indie bookstore with a crush-worthy cutie manning the soy latte counter.

When the first meeting arrives, Norah gets a page-turning surprise. The attendees may be bookish, but there are also a few hotties! Most noteworthy: sweet, literary James. He's like a modern Jane Austen hero.... Only, how to snag him?

Ever the romantic heroine, Norah devises a secret plan. And if it works, Norah may just find her "Happily Ever After" love story. The End.

Customer Reviews:

Good but your typical teen novel.......2007-02-08

In the beginning and in the end of reading this book, I did enjoy it. It was parts in the middle that made it seem a bit too silly and unbelieveable. Not to say all novels must BE believeable but there were just points where there was no way a girl would ever go through such lengths to win over a guy. Well, in my opinion anyway. But other than that i really enjoyed the book. I felt i could see myself in a lot of the characters during the story. Its not a great read but i do recommend it to others because it was indeed still entertaining. I will probably search out more of Aimee's books too see if there are ones bettert than this one.

This book captured " my heart "!!!!!!!.......2006-08-20

This is a book about sixteen year old Norah, who is short on college credits and needs to find a way to bring up her extra curricular activties. When she starts the book club, she finds that one person in particular catches her attention. To get the guy to look her way Norah comes up with plots... ( from a romance novel!!! ) This book is awesome with all the twists and schemes!! It is hilarious!!! This book totally captured my heart!!

Is 3 stars too generous?.......2006-06-30

I really liked the concept of this book - it started out great -but the execution was terrible. For one: The main character is not only silly, she's obtuse and annoying. I wanted to slap her many times throughout the book. Her scheming plan (based on a plot from a romance novel of all things) to win over James was pretty pathetic to say the least. If I were him, I wouldn't want a girl like her.

This book could have been a winner but it was mostly a dud. If you are looking for a good romantic comedy try ANIMAL ATTRACTION by Jamie Ponti. That is awesome!

couldn't put it down!.......2006-05-16

unlike the gossip girl series this book gives you an idea of what it's really like to be kid growing up in new york! brooklyn and the subways arent icky places meant to be avoided! brooklyn is filled with cool artsy little nooks if you know where to look for them!

another awesome thing about this book is the characters! it starts of in a 'breakfast club' sort of way introducing you to the type of people whom you think you already know. , you meet the 'jane average' jewish heroine, her savvy black best friend, the sassy overachiever gay friend, the 'cool californian blond surfer dude' type, an italian 7 jeans wearing 'popular girl' (or 'plum') and indian and white "nerd-guys".

(((i love the racial diversity! finally a book about new york where all the characters arent white! lol!!!)))

but guess what? none of the characters are what they seem! as norah and the reader will find out passing any of these characters off as 'just a stereotype' will have you missing out on a totally awesome person! is franchesca really a vapid annoying little debbie? is griffin only into annoying little debbies? is neil just another scifi book-geek???

and those are only minor characters LOL!

its very refreshing to see a teen book where all of the characters get some kind of thought and attention from the writer. you feel like you could meet any of these people in real life. yes, even phillippa!

Kind of book you can't put down.......2006-02-27

I started reading this book, one night and i stayed up until 1:30a.m reading this book. This book is a sappy romance book, but if you enjoy reading romance, then you're sure to love it. Created with a character who loves reading and who i can in a way relate to...aimee friedman has created the typical teenage of what some teenagers feel and do. This book is the type of book that i couldn't put down until i finished it and i'm sure it'll be one that you won't be able to put down either.

Fashion High Graphic Novel (Breaking Up)

Average customer rating:

Breaking Up (with Your Best Friend) is Hard to Do
Well-drawn characters and a good story
A fine story of breaking up and getting together comes to life in the graphic novel format.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Fashion High Graphic Novel (Breaking Up)
Aimee Friedman
Manufacturer: GRAPHIX
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0439748674

Book Description

"There's a fine line between a friend and an enemy. One minute there's all this trust, and laughter, and love. And the next minute... ... there's hurt. And cruelty. And betrayal." Meet Chloe Sacks: Thoughtful, artistic, and a junior at Georgia O'Keefe School for the Arts, nicknamed "Fashion High" for its trendy student body. Along with her best friends, Erika, Isabel, and MacKenzie, she's looking forward to a sparkling year of parties and romance. And it is an eventful year. But not quite what she expected. Who'd have thought that falling in love would be such a disaster?

Customer Reviews:

Breaking Up (with Your Best Friend) is Hard to Do.......2007-02-26

Welcome to Georgia O'Keefe School for the Arts, where teenaged artists and fashionistas strut down the hallways.

BREAKING UP: A Fashion High Graphic Novel tells the story of four students: bold Mackenzie, dancer Erika, striking Isabel, and artistic Chloe, our narrator. The girls used to be as thick of thieves, especially Chloe and Mackenzie, but as junior year goes on, they drift apart. Will their friendship survive boys, school, and family issues?

Mackenzie starts off the year with a bang, getting a lightning bolt tattoo on her back/shoulder. On a quest to be loved and popular, she seeks out the attention of the reigning couple of their grade level. Mackenzie finally becomes friends with the queen bee, Nicola - and begins secretly dating Nicola's boyfriend, Gabe.

Erika has been dating Kyle since they were sophomores. They share a passion for music, though different kinds: quiet Erika plays the piano while Kyle rocks out on his guitar with his band. Their friends think they look cute together and tease them about how sweet they are, not knowing that Kyle's pressuring Erika to do something she doesn't want to do.

Isabel has a gleam in her eyes and a need for her parents to ease up on her. Her parents are generous and loving in many ways, but they don't want her to date and they constantly keep tabs on her. Frustrated, Isabel throws herself into dance rehearsals. She starts seeing a soccer player named Brad even though it's against the rules.

At the heart of it all is Chloe. While developing her talent in art class, she also develops a crush on Adam, a boy that Mackenzie thinks is totally dorky. Dating him might mean pushing an already drifting Mackenzie further away. Chloe finally admits to herself that she does like Adam, and when she finds out he likes her too, they start to date. By not telling her friends about her first real boyfriend, though, Chloe's only hiding something huge from them and making Adam feel as though she's ashamed of him.

As the story proceeds and the girls grow too busy and too caught up in their personal lives to talk as much as they used to, it gets easier to lie to one another or avoid each other entirely. The tension builds, then explodes, and the once tight-knit group effectively breaks up. It is this disintegration to which the title truly refers, telling a story that many girls have gone through themselves with their best friends.

This graphic novel boasts detailed black-and-white illustrations by Christine Norrie and text by Aimee Friedman. The dialogue is easy to follow, as is Chloe's narration. Unlike the majority of comics and animated projects, which have characters stay in the same outfits ninety-nine percent of the time, Norrie blesses these characters with varied wardrobes. This is a plus. After all, the series called FASHION HIGH, and I don't think Mackenzie would be caught dead in an outfit she had already worn. It also gives each girl a style indicative of her personality. Mackenzie and Isabel are more trendy than Erika and Chloe, who tend to be conservative. Norrie gives each girl a distinct look, making it easy to tell who's who, while Friedman gives each her own voice.

The story does touch on some mature topics, making it appropriate for ages 14 and up, a little older than Scholastic's typical reader. In this particular case, the closer the reader is to the age of the four girls depicted, the more likely the reader is to relate to their experiences.

Well-drawn characters and a good story.......2007-02-04

This teen romantic comedy is the newest release from Scholastic's GRAPHIX line of youth graphic novels, which also includes The Baby-Sitters Club series, the wildly adventurous Bone series by Jeff Smith, and the new Goosebumps graphic novels by R. L. Stine.

"Breaking Up" follows the ups and downs of four friends in their junior year of high school. They attend the Georgia O'Keefe School for the Arts in New York City, but they've nicknamed it "Fashion High" because all the artsy kids who go there try *so hard* to be cool, fashionable, and different. The star of the book is Chloe Sacks, who loves school and her painting classes but just isn't into Fashion High's rat race of popularity and parties. She's surrounded, however, by three best friends who really *do* care, and sometimes their conflicting agendas cause arguments, misunderstandings, and DRAMA the likes of which even artsy Fashion High has never before seen.

The real culprit in the conflict is Chloe's friend Mackenzie, who wants desperately to be a top-of-the-hive Queen Bee and who thinks that pursuing the school's popularity royalty, no matter how cruel and untrustworthy they are, is the surest way to the top. As Mackenzie strays from the fold, Chloe focuses her attention on painting--and on Adam, the smart, talented, but dangerously un-cool guy with whom she shares more interests than with anyone else, even her best friends.

Chloe and Mackenzie polarize towards the suave and geeky crowds and end up pulling their other friends (sheltered, rebellious Isabel and shy, true-blue Erika) between them. Junior year becomes a tug-of-war that makes them all unhappy, with each one struggling to grown up and define what's most important to her. The central issue here is honesty: Isabel tries to get more freedom by fibbing to her parents, Erika dumps a boyfriend who tries to pressure her into getting physical, Mackenzie loses her mind and steps out with a good friend's beau, and Chloe, disastrously, tries to keep her relationship with the unpopular Adam a secret from everyone.

"Breaking Up" treats all these tangled bonds with honesty, sweetness, and a good dose of teenage melodrama. Though its plot is a bit predictable, Aimee Friedman's script brings a lot of humor and some really wonderful character touches, like when Chloe begins to pick up Adam's habit of throwing out obscure, fascinating facts to her friends, followed by the phrase "It's just something I know." With such likable quirks, the author conveys a whole world of shifting teenage affections and insecurities.

This graphic novel's great strength, though, is Christine Norrie's awesome black-and-white cartooning. Norrie is best known for drawing the charming punk-family dramedy comic "Hopeless Savages," and she continues creating great illustrations in the pages of Fashion High. She uses clean, pleasing lines; each of her characters has a distinct look; and the kids' spot-on body language conveys all the froth of their teenage hearts. I hope there are more Fashion High comics to come, and I hope Christine Norrie draws them.

"Breaking Up" is recommended for teens because it deals in part with high-schoolers' questions about going steady and making out. The language in it is quite clean, and the situations stay clear of anything graphic. It's a good, solid teen novel that's like a less "mature" alternative to the "A-List" and "Clique" series--fun, engaging stuff for young readers, especially those interested in art and reading about teens involved in dance and the visual arts.

A fine story of breaking up and getting together comes to life in the graphic novel format........2007-02-04

This black and white graphic novel tells of a junior in a school noted for its trendy student body. Chloe's looking forward to a year of romance and adventure - but her experiments with love and friendship result in disaster, especially when she keeps an unexpected romance hidden from her friends. A fine story of breaking up and getting together comes to life in the graphic novel format.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-01-08

Friends forever! That is exactly how Chloe Sacks feels about her tight group of girlfriends. Since what seems like forever, Chloe, Isabel, Erika, and Mackenzie have been inseparable. They did everything together, from sharing secrets to gossiping with one another. And when they start out their junior year together, Chloe is sure that it will be another great year for them all. But little does she know that as they enter their junior year, they may actually become distant.

The new school year does not start off too well for the girls. Instead of having all of their classes together they only have one--Health, with the very weird Ms. Lamour. Not only are their schedules changing, but so are they.

It seems like all Mackenzie can think about is getting "in" with the popular crowd, befriending Nicola Burnett, the girlfriend of Gabe, who Mackenzie is beginning to fall for. Isabel is having trouble with her very controlling parents, especially when she really wants to date soccer player Brad Richmond. Erika loves her boyfriend, Kyle, very much, but is beginning to question their relationship since all Kyle thinks about is pressuring her to take their relationship to the "next level." And Chloe is beginning to have feelings for Adam Stevenson, who, unfortunately, around school is considered a loser, even by her own friends.

A new year, new relationships, and a new perspective on how the girls begin to look at each other. It seems like the girls' junior year isn't turning out to be what they expected.

Different from what Aimee Friedman normally writes, BREAKING UP: A FASHION HIGH GRAPHIC NOVEL, is a quick and easy read that will definitely pull the reader in from the very beginning. Aimee Friedman hits the target with high school angst in this graphic novel, with characters that are easy for the readers to relate to. The novel deals with real life
issues from relationships to friends. It was like watching another episode of Degrassi The Next Generation - Season 1. And the pictures, illustrated by Christine Norrie, were absolutely amazing.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

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