fairywhispers's "2008 Bookshelf"

This is one of the best Sweet Valley books I have read. Apparently this is actually part two of a three part mini-series. I have not read part one but the cliff-hanger in this book has me hanging out for part three! Unfortunately, my local library has lost their copy, so I am getting my daughter to check for it in her school library. This was an excellent book and I recommend it.

Though a little formulaic, Beast is a riveting read. With plenty of suspense and death, there is rarely a dull moment. The giant squid is a real animal, yet is still unfamiliar enough to provide plenty of thrills. This book will have you thinking twice about ever entering the ocean again.

Brain is definitely the best Robin Cook novel I have read so far. The characters are very well-developed, the thrills are realistic and the end is entirely unexpected. Though the porn trade is mentioned in the blurb, this is not a big part of the story. This novel is so frightening, you will never look at hospitals in the same way again!

This was a very scary book. The concept is frightening for it’s plausibility. There are still unexplored places in our world and it is not just possible, but probable that some prehistoric species have survived in these regions. Therefore, the idea that, somewhere in our deepest oceans, Megalodon still hunts is not unrealistic and Meg is all the more frightening for that possibility. With plenty of suspense and lots of blood, this is a book that will keep you awake at night.

This is a great read! I wasn’t bored at all during any part of this. It was thrilling and it was funny. I won’t give it away but I absolutely loved the ending!

Phantom of the Auditorium is one of the better Goosebumps books that I have read. As always, Stine has included a few twists to the story. This book is sure to give your kids a scare.

This was a good read but it wasn’t as thrilling as I had hoped and many of the characters were a stretch to say the least. Parts of the plotline were clichéd and the twists, which were supposed to be thrilling, were of the typical variety which have been done to death. Read the book, but don’t hold out high expectations.

Prey is an extremely thrilling read about what can happen when cutting-edge science is applied by the military without regards to possible consequences. In Prey, nano-technology is utilised to create a swarm of deadly micro-robots. These robots are able to reproduce, survive on solar power and have a kind of hive-mind, allowing them to become one of the deadliest predators mankind has encountered. This is a very scary novel and I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend reading it.

For those who enjoy a good spiritual thriller, Bless the Child is just the thing to keep them up at night. Do not be put off by the tacky movie of the same name. This novel is a thrill-and-a-half. Filled with religious imagery and human passion, this story will hook you from beginning to end.The characters in this novel are well-developed and contain a depth that is so often lacking in spiritual thrillers, and the emotions described are all too real. Historical scenes and esoteric knowledge seem well-researched so that situations and events have a plausibility that will have you awake well into the small hours. Bless the Child is definitely not for the faint-hearted!

The Haunted Burial Ground is book number seven in the Sweet Valley Twins Super Chiller series. This book was a decent read and would probably give a good thrill to tweens and early teens. This is one of the better Sweet Valley books.