Peaches

In a Ya-Ya Sisterhood for teens, Peaches combines three unforgettable heroines who have nothing in common but the troubles that have gotten them sentenced to a summer of peach picking at a Georgia orchard.

Leeda is a debutante dating wrong-side-of-the-tracks Rex.

Murphy, the wildest girl in Bridgewater, likes whichever side Rex is on.

Birdie is a dreamer whose passion for Girl Scout cookies is matched only by her love for a boy named Enrico.

When their worlds collide, The Breakfast Club meets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in an entirely original and provocative story with a lush, captivating setting.

*May Contain Spoilers*

I caught sight of this book in the library and I knew that I had to start the series. A peach colored book with peaches dancing on the cover was just too alluring to stop myself. Jodi Lynn Anderson's novel, Peaches, was absolute sweetness covered in fuzz with the threat of bugs and brown rot. I read it all in one sitting. I even ignored the laundry. 

The three main characters are girls from different parts of life in Bridgewater, Georgia. All three are teenagers, on the cusp of adulthood. Leeda is from a mainly snobby-family. Her mother and sister are almost identical in looks and personality that it drives Leeda up the wall. All Leeda wants is to be accepted by her mother and finally feel like she isn't competing against her sister, Danay. Readers will enjoy Leeda's character. She's a good girl who is trying to find herself. 

Murphy is a chaotic handful that means well, under the surface. She's troubled, worried about her mother, and is scared to open herself up to anyone. But she's also the sarcastic and humorous relief. Readers will empathize with and understand the ways in which Murphy acts-out to get attention. She's a teenage girl with no real role model. The hearts of readers will open up to that. 

Birdie was my favorite character. She is Leeda's cousin, daughter of a peach orchard owner. Birdie is incredibly shy and unsure of herself with a lot weighing on her shoulders. Now that her mom has left, Birdie feels like she has to fill her shoes, stepping in to help the orchard and the workers over the course of the season. Birdie is very down to earth with a loyal heart and a growing desire for adventure. Readers will love watching her personality and strength blossom. 

The plot of the novel begins with each of the three girls being sent to the orchard, in various ways, for the duration of spring break. The spark of friendship begins and three lonely teenagers who haven't discovered who they are yet become a part of the orchard and a part of each other. Peaches is a wonderful coming of age novel that gives a girl a friend when break-ups, betrayal, and late night swims are too much to go through alone. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Tunnels to Dead Ends

Beneath the streets of Savannah, Georgia lay a maze of tunnels that connect the organs of the city. Cockroaches claim the throne of this underground metropolis while a visitor utilizes the hidden passageways to transport paralyzed people stolen from the domain that looms above. 

Detectives Elise and David - each struggling with a past they don't want to face - attempt to track down the person responsible for multiple poisonings and murders. Yet, each tunnel leads them to another dead end. Flashlight in hand, the partners shine their light on the bricks that deceivingly promise to stand strong. With the right crack, the architecture might come crashing down and with it, the architect. 

The character that was never questioned. 

Frasier does a magnificent job at providing a story with so much detail that the reader feels like a detective. Taking the role of the various points-of-view that Frasier offers, it's the reader's job to connect the dots. This book was full of horrific detail, emotional attachment, and amazement at some of the history a city can hold. Readers with queasy stomachs beware, but those who can smell the sulfur wafting from the pages and don't feel their heartbeat quicken: be sure to pick this one up. 

Play Dead on Amazon

Resurrection of the Dead

"Death is a seductive, erotic thing."
Play Dead

As my investigative mind swirls through the minute details of each character, I'm struggling to put the pieces together in the right order. Anne Frasier is spinning a delicate web of people, places, and folklore that makes me question everyone and the motives behind everything they do.

Underneath the soft Georgia dirt are people who are being resurrected. With skin that smells like death but ears that tune into the living, dead bodies are coming back to life. The Voodoo and Root Doctor myths that circle the dark city of Savannah hint at what might be going on, but a spell is never certain. Especially when the detective in charge of these un-dead cases is the daughter of a powerful conjurer and there's a killer who doesn't appear to be very good at getting the job done.

Could this all be coincidence? An experiment with a new street drug made out of Puffer fish toxins? Or could someone really be bringing to dead back to life to do their bidding?

Think twice about the next question, do you believe in ghosts?