Yikes! What do I buy for (insert a name)?

Interesting title, no? Bet it grabbed your attention! For all of us, there are teens and those who love a good teen read on our Christmas list. But what do we buy for who?

Today, I’m giving you a list of personality types and the book or books they might love.

Ready? Here we go.

The quiet, dreamy teen who needs a cozy, curl up by the fire love story. Buy THE HEALER’S APPRENTICE.

The cool girl who likes to read about fashion, fun, and friends. Buy the ALL ABOUT US series from Shelley Adina.

The teen boy who loves graphic novels. Buy the CIRCLE TRILOGY by Ted Dekker. Beautifully illustrated!

The teen who loves a mystery! Buy the RAYNE TOUR books by Brandilyn and Amberly Collins.

The Sci-fi/fantasy junkie, boy or girl. Buy Jill Williamson’s BLOOD OF KINGS series.

The teen girl who needs a deep level read. Buy SECRETS UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN.

Books are such a great Christmas gift. The holidays are hectic. And when the presents have been opened, the tummy is full of tasty yumminess, and the snow is piling up outside…well, what better thing to do than crack open a new book and settle in? I’ve always had a special place in my heart for relatives who buy me books for Christmas. Better than fuzzy socks or a sweater–although I love fuzzy socks–books transport us to another world, another life. They force us to think and create scenarios in our imaginations.

Have fun shopping and I hope these gave you a few ideas.

 Be blessed and enjoy the season!

Heather Burch

Review: Chosen: the Graphic Novel by Ted Dekker

Click on the cover to read more reviews on Amazon.com.

Review by Luke Williamson

To clarify, this is a review for the graphic novel of Chosen. A graphic novel is like a really long comic book. If you want to see Novel Teen’s review of the regular novel, click here.

The Horde has done so much damage to the Forest Dwellers that Thomas Hunter has no choice but to lower the recruitment age for his army to sixteen. Four new soldiers are chosen to go on a quest to prove their worth. But their mission takes a turn when they are redirected by one of Thomas Hunter’s old comrades. Now they must locate seven lost Books of History before the enemy finds them.

I thought the story was fun and exciting. I liked the pictures, especially the ones of the roush. They were my favorite characters. But I like that I can see what’s happening as I read. The pictures are cool. At the beginning, no one wanted to listen to Johnis because he was small. But he proved to be a smart leader. I didn’t see the end coming.  I think this is a good book that anybody would like.

Age Range: 8 and up
Genre: fantasy
Part of a Series: The Lost Books, book one
Pages: 144
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Released: 2010

Review: Red: The Heroic Rescue (The Circle Trilogy Graphic Novels, book 2) by Ted Dekker

Review by Jill Williamson

 

Again, just to clarify, this is a review for the graphic novel of Red. If you want to read my review of the regular novel, click here.

 

For fifteen years, Thomas Hunter has eaten the rhambutan fruit, and for fifteen year, he had not awakened on earth. His army is fighting a war against the Horde. There are too many to defeat. Thomas’ only plan is to dream and find out how to make explosives on earth so that his army might win against the Horde.

 

Thomas wakes up to discover not a day has passed on earth. He and his sister are still trying to stop the outbreak of the Raison Strain. Thomas bounces between worlds again trying to be a hero in both. He works with the United States government to try to prevent the end of the world on earth, and when he sleeps, he is trying to save the forest dwellers from an equally devastating crisis with the Horde. 

 

Again, in graphic novel form, the story moves really fast. It’s an action-packed story anyway, but if you’ve read the novel, you might feel like lots of stuff is missing. I also felt like there was a mistake in there, when Thomas was shot on earth, he awoke fine, then a few pages later Rachelle was shocked that he wasn’t hurt. Something was off there. However, my seven-year-old son loved this one as much as the first. Beautiful illustrations. The allegory of Jesus is strong in this book. It was fun to talk about that with my son. Once I brought it up, he started noticing things too. Then, the other day, he had chapped lips and told me that must be what the Scabs had felt like. J

 

As I said with the Black graphic novel, Red is a bit gory when there are fight scenes, but my husband said that’s how comic books are supposed to be. To read my review of the Black graphic novel, click here. Also, check out the really cool interactive Web site for the graphic novel series here: http://www.thecircletrilogy.com/.

 

Age Range: 8 and up

Genre: fantasy

Part of a Series: The Circle Trilogy Graphic Novels, book 2

Pages: 132

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Released: 2007

 

Review: Black: The Birth of Evil. (The Circle Trilogy Graphic Novels, book 1) by Ted Dekker

Review by Jill Williamson

 

To clarify, this is a review for the graphic novel of Black. A graphic novel is like a really long comic book. If you want to see my review of the regular novel, click here.

 

Someone is shooting at Thomas Hunter. Then they are chasing him. He runs to his sister’s house for safety, but when he falls asleep he wakes up in a strange and foreign land. Every time he falls asleep in one world, he wakes up in the other. Thomas discovers that in order to save earth from a deadly virus, he must ask questions in the other world. And that fantasy world is about to encounter a major problem itself.

 

I love Dekker’s Circle Trilogy. Reading this graphic novel after knowing the books so well was a bit difficult. I felt like it moved too fast and left out so many important details. But I read it aloud to my seven-year-old son and he loved it. The illustrations are excellent, and we did have to stop a few times so I could explain something, but even with details left out, this story captivated. I highly recommend this graphic novel for kids who love action-packed adventure stories. Even the ones who don’t like to read should get into this. It’s a little violent in parts, as Thomas is being shot at and the fighting is illustrated. So, if you aren’t into that, you might not like this. If you do, you’ll love it. Check out the really cool interactive Web site for the graphic novel series here: http://www.thecircletrilogy.com/.

 

Age Range: 8 and up

Genre: Suspense/Fantasy

Part of a Series: The Circle Trilogy Graphic Novels, book 1

Pages: 136

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Released: 2007