Shimmer by Alyson Noël (A Riley Bloom Book)

Publisher:  Square Fish / St. Martin's Press
Pages:  208

(Released:  March 15, 2011)

From the Cover:

Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a vicious black dog, against Bodhi’s advice, she decides to cross him over.

While following the dog, she runs into a young ghost named Rebecca. Despite Rebecca’s sweet appearance, Riley soon learns she’s not at all what she seems. As the daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca is lashing out by keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst memories.

Can Riley help Rebecca forgive and forget without losing herself to her own nightmarish memories?

Riley Bloom is supposed to be on vacation.  The Council kindly agreed that after her last assignment which she pulled off without a hitch, Riley and Bodhi needed time off and to get to know each other.  But, when they arrive at Riley's dream vacay spot, something else is waiting for them.  It comes in the form of a large black dog, a HellHound.  Riley simply cannot have the beast wondering around, frightening people half to death.  She's determined to cross the dog or else.  What Riley finds when she goes in search of the dog is more than she expected.  Rebecca, a ghost too long left on her own and on the Earthly plane, manifests the worst experience in Riley's life and lets her relived it time and time again.  Then, Rebecca entraps Bodhi and Buttercup in their worst nightmares, and it's up to Riley to free them, and not only them, but the hundreds of other souls Rebecca was trapped in her evil web of hatred and anger.  And now, she'll have to worry about the Council again, because this was not what she was supposed to be doing...

Shimmer by Alyson Noël is another excellent addition to Ms. Noël's growing number of YA reads for both teens and preteens.  In Shimmer, we once again find Riley, the forever to be twelve sister to Ever Bloom from the Immortals series.  While Ever was called back to the Earthly plane and allowed to live, the rest of her family, including the family dog, Buttercup, dies and crosses over to the Here & Now.... except for Riley.  It takes her a while to give up the Earthly desires and Ever, her older sister and the one person she wanted to be just like.  When she finally see she needs to move on, Riley joins the rest of her family and begins her other existence as a Soul Catcher.  In the first book of the series, Radiance, Riley discovers what her new purpose is and get her first taste of a Soul Catcher by crossing the Radiant Boy.  In Shimmer, Riley isn't working with the Council, she hasn't been assigned to retrieve the souls desperate for release from their Rebecca imposed prison, but she exerts her "free will" and follows what she knows in her heart to be the right thing.  Now, if only she can convince the Council she was trying to help instead of being obnoxious and strong willed, that is when she returns to the Here & Now, and she's dreading being summoned.

Shimmer is a great read for grades 4 and up. As an adult reader, I was turning the pages of this quick little read, hoping Riley would find her way, as well as saving Bodhi, Buttercup, and all the others.  And there is a moment in time where she's trapped and has to save herself first, I found myself cringing along with Riley, but hoping for the best.  This is an easy read for the younger readers and an intriguing read for the older readers.  Riley was always one of my favorite characters, and her story is being laid out for us, bit by bit in every book.  I highly recommend this series for younger readers, and those who feel young at heart.  There's always a positive message left behind, and even when there's conflict, it's age appropriate and resolved the same way.  If you haven't read Radiance (Book One), I'd recommend picking it up, but it's not necessary to read these books in order, each book can stand alone, Shimmer (Book Two) has enough background given to easily be enjoyed.  YA lovers everywhere, if you enjoy the Immortal series, pick up Riley Bloom's series, Radiance and Shimmer, you won't be sorry, it's an excellent read for every age.  Riley's adventures will continue in Dreamland (Book Three).

(Release Date:  September 13, 2011)

 

From the Cover:

Riley’s finding that the afterlife can be a lonely place when all you do is focus on work. So she goes to the place where dreams happen, hoping to find a way to contact her sister, Ever. She meets the director, who tells her about the two ways to send dreams. 

As a Dream Jumper, a person can jump into a dreamer’s dream, share a message, and participate. As a Dreamweaver, an entire dream can be created in a studio and sent to the dreamer. But Dreamweaving was outlawed decades ago, and the studio was boarded up. 

Thinking it’s her only way to reach out to her sister, Riley goes in search of the old studio. There she finds a ghost boy, who’s been creating and sending nightmares to people for years. In order to stop him and reach out to Ever, Riley is going to have to confront and overcome her own fears. 

Book Trailer:

I receive this book from the publisher, St. Martin's Press for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Promo ~ Shimmer by Alyson Noël

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press / Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

Pages:  208

(Release Date:  March 15, 2011)

Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a vicious black dog, against Bodhi's advice, she decides to cross him over. While following the dog, she runs into a young ghost named Rebecca. Despite Rebecca's sweet appearance, Riley soon learns she's not at all what she seems. As the daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca is lashing out by keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst memories. Can Riley help Rebecca forgive and forget without losing herself to her own nightmarish memories?







I loved Radiance, can't wait to take a peek at Shimmer!

Find out more about Shimmer here, including audio excerpts and Riley's diary:

http://www.alysonnoel.com/radiance/shimmer.php

Link to trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZqW7rJyvDU

Radiance by Alyson Noël

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Pages:  183

From the Cover:

Welcome to the Here & Now

Riley Bloom  left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the  bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now.  Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and  are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before  The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an  eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul  Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment,  a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries.  Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed.  But he's never met Riley...

Riley has finally accepted her fate.  Leaving her sister, Ever, behind on the Earth plane, she's accepted her fate, her death, her place in the Here.  She joined her parents, grandparents, and Buttercup, her loving Golden Labrador, in the place across the bridge.  A place without time, where only in the Here is the Now, or as she thinks of it, the Here & Now.

Just when she thinks that it all manifests, goofing off, doing whatever she likes; she finds out she has to go back to school, and not only that, but she has a job to do, and a guide, Bodhi, to show her how to do it.  And her first job is a doozy....


Radiance by Alyson Noël is the story of Riley Bloom, after she decides to cross the bridge from the Earth plane and Summerland, after she leaves Ever.  Because, she cannot go on forever tagging along behind her big sister, watching her grow and change, and never being able to change with her.  Riley will be forever and always, twelve years old.  She'll never be a teenager, never grow up, never grow... well, you know, her chest is so flat is almost sunken in.  After accepted her fate, and moving on with her death, she finds out she has a job to do, with a boss she doesn't much like, as a Soul Catcher.  She's assigned to guiding souls across the bridge to the Here. But no one tells her what it's going to be like, what she'll experience, how to act.  And then when she has to watch Bodhi suffer, all she can do is hope.

Radiance is one of those books that, no matter what kind of day you've had, it makes you feel better.  It's marketed to an YA audience, and I would go even further, it would be an excellent middle grade book, and I'd encourage school libraries to acquire this book, it would make an excellent addition to any school library, excellent for their reading program.  There is a slightly familiar world to the readers of the Immortals Series, but different enough that it makes the story unique.  Riley is one of my favorite characters from the Immortal Series, so I was happy to see her story being told.  She's an irascible character, not opposed to causing a little trouble or speaking her twelve year old mind.  And you know what, when she has something to say, it's usually a truth that needs to be heard or a lesson she has learned by her own weary experience.  I'd highly recommend this book to all readers, regardless of your age, fantasy lovers everywhere.  It's fun, with enough explanations for a younger group of readers to enjoy, but with a story that all readers will fall in love with.  Alyson Noël has rarely if ever disappointed me, and Radiance is no exception.  I'll be looking forward to Shimmer in March 2011.

(March 15, 2011)

From the Cover:

Having solved  the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying  a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a young ghost named  Rebecca, Riley soon learns Rebecca's not at all what she sees.

The  daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being  murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca  is keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst  memories. Can Riley help Rebecca without losing herself to her own  nightmarish memories?