Reviews written by Amber McKinney

Everyone knows that the 7th son of a 7th son is an incredibly magical person, obviously destined for great things. But what if you're his twin, and you have the unhappy fortune of being the thirteenth child out of fourteen brothers and sisters? Eff is that thirteenth child, the one...

The Beaumont family is just a tad different. How different? Well, let's see, their mom is literally 'perfect,' their grandpa may or may not have created states by increasing land area in his youth, and the eldest brother in the family can blow out light bulbs with electrical surges faster...

In Anna's basement, there's a secret lab where four very handsome, very dangerous young men are kept as an experiment. When they eventually escape, Anna ends up having to go along with them. As she becomes closer to their leader, Sam, Anna realizes that she might not just be the...

Malencia "Cia" Vale lives in a small community with her loving family, and she's rapidly approaching graduation from school and adulthood. She's a clever, smart girl with some skill for mechanics, and she would like to be chosen for the Testing, which, if she passed, would put her on the...

In Newcago, Steelheart, a ultra-powered tyrant, rules over the city using fear, oppression and darkness to keep the citizens of his dictatorship in line. It doesn't help that he's a nearly invincible, almost immortal with enough superpowers to make Superman go "whoa." One rather awkward and stubborn young man, David,...

Asunder continues the story of Ana, a Newsoul, the first one born in thousands of years among the people of Heart, but in this book, she is no longer alone. Other newsouls are being born to replace the souls that disappeared during the chaos of the last book, when there...

In New York City in the late 1970s, twelve-year-old Miranda lives with her vibrant but sometimes childish and frustrated mother in a rundown apartment building in a lower class neighborhood. When Sal, her best friend since infancy, suddenly no longer wants to be friends with Miranda, new friends Annemarie, Colin...

Levi Battle is accustomed to family members leaving him. His mother abandoned him on the seat of a Ford when he was just a baby, and his father left him many times over the years. But Levi is unprepared to be the one leaving when his Aunt Odella abruptly decides...

After training in Tae Kwon Do for years and achieving a black belt, Imogen does not act when confronted with a real life situation. The aftermath is devastating, and Imogen sinks into depression, weighed down by a massive amount of guilt. She's also dealing with other issues in her life...

In The Listless, old friends who were once in a band come back together after being offered a record deal to do a tour. Their adventure is meandering as they visit places they once loved and live a sort of rocky dream life for a short time, taking a break...

Cyborg Cinderella set in a futuristic Asian society dealing with a ravaging plague and freaky moon people with their sociopathic queen. Cinder is mostly cyborg, and in her world, that's not a cool, awesome thing. Cyborgs are heavily discriminated against and considered second class citizens. Or maybe they're even lower...

The Slave Dancer was the Newbery Award winner for 1974; it's an old school book, written in an old school style. Therefore, for people who love modern style writing that's quick or not too prosy, this one probably isn't the one for them. It miiiight not hold the attention of...

A tale of adventure, treasure, a talking dragon with a funny name, dwarven companions and discovering courage during trying circumstances, The Hobbit is a story that kids, teens and adults have been enjoying for going on a century. It's the story of a small, fussy little hobbit named...

Aliens, robot armor suits, explosions, a psychic little girl, a bounty hunter, a near-magic tech wizard, a romance and a dog. What more are you looking for in a sci-fi book?! I mean, seriously! So, yeah, I love this book. It's got all of the sorts of...

How in the world does one fit everything in A Clash of Kings into one review?! I give up, I’ll just stick to the important bits. This book is great but ginormous, and it's a whole lot of book to take in at once. I'm a multi-book-reader, but while I...