Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison

"The Beast" is just one of the most common of horrible nicknames that Beth has grown up hearing. With frizzy hair, "coke-bottle" glasses, & disfiguring acne scars stacked on top of her tall frame, Beth has never stood a chance against bullies. She has learned to deal with her unfortunate circumstances rather than try to overcome them. All of that changed when she stepped forward to take over a soprano solo in her competitive show choir.

After having her hair chopped, straightened & colored, having lots of places waxed, & a complete wardrobe makeover, "The Beast" is now just Beth. She's quite good-looking and has started turning heads in a good way. Too bad the only person who noticed her in a good way before the transformation is now repulsed by her actions. Scott has always been such a great friend to Beth, that she just doesn't understand why he wouldn't want her to be happy. It's her ultimate goal to get him to understand, until Derek starts schmoozing his way into the picture. With a voice like silk and a bad boy repertoire, he's just the kind of guy that Beth is looking for to go with her new look. But, who really cares about her? The boy who always cared or the one who cares now?

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. I was hoping that it would be a lot like Taken By Storm which was quite well-written & overall enjoyable. This one just flatlined part of the way through the book. Beth could have been a likable character if it weren't for her utter lack of a spine. I understand that there are bullies who exist and that they are cruel, but what some of these kids do to Beth is assault, not just teasing. There are many other instances that are just beyond belief for me in this novel and while I understand that sometimes the suspension of our own reality is necessary, I refuse to believe that the situations in this book are so common.

Most of the characters were so stereotypical it was annoying. I found I could practically predict what action the characters would take or what phrase they would use. Even the storyline was flat. Ugly girl becomes pretty girl and chases after bad boy, when good boy has been there all along. There wasn't even a twist on this tale. In all honesty, and as much as it pains me to say this, this book wasn't worth it. There was no silver lining and the book does not redeem itself at the end. If you want a plain, obvious story, this is it, but if you prefer something with any kind of creativity, you'll want to pass.

Book provided by Around the World Tours.

Sing Me to Sleep by Angela Morrison

Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison

Isadore took everything from Michael. She was vicious, brutal, and unrelenting. In her wake she left Michael friendless and orphaned. That is how he came to live with his paternal grandmother in the small rainy town in the Northwestern US rather than in sunny Arizona or balmy Florida. After the hurricane killed everyone on the scuba-diving boat trip, Michael didn't have anything left. He kept his dive log and used it as a type of therapeutic journal when Isadore became too much for him to bear.

Until he meets quiet, enigmatic, Mormon Leesie (dubbed The Ice Queen by fellow classmates), Michael thought he might need to give in to what Isadore told him. He finds himself drawn to Leesie's presence despite her very strike moral and religious guidelines. At first it appears that they won't work out due to his volatile nature as a result of his grief. He's trying to overcome something that seems insurmountable and Leesie wants to help him, both spiritually and emotionally. They spend all their free time together, despite what they are hiding form one another. In the end, their secrets may be too great for them to bare alone. Can they manage to rescue each other before one of them is gone?

Taken by Storm is not only told in alternating voice, but by multiple means. When it's Michael's turn, we're reading his entries in his dive log. They tell so much and yet not always enough. He's very clipped and refers to himself as "i" rather than "I" insinuating that he is less important that others. When Leesie is narrating, she speaks in either a chat log with Michael or her poetry critique partner or uses her actual poetry to convey action. Her work is very literal with less symbolism than one encounters during English class, but there is still rhythm and measure to it. It was very pleasing.

The religious aspect of this book added a whole other dimension that I enjoy authors exploring openly. Leesie is like a lot of girls, both religious and not, who are abstaining from physical intimacy (of most kinds) and is trying to do the morally appropriate things in all situations. Naturally, Michael plays the sinner attempting to be saved by this girl, but really it's deeper than that. She's not necessarily concerned with saving his immortal soul and converting him, but really she just wants to open his mind to other ways of thinking. A very unique experience I must say.

Overall though, there was very little real action and sometimes the dialogue left something to be desired. At least 50 pages could have been cut out since it was just repetitive arguments between the main characters over how far they could go and what his parents' deaths mean to him. It was kind of hard to read through those moments, but I felt satisfied at the end of this novel. The ending especially gave me a huge boost. I felt that it was very telling and very fitting this particular situation. Give this book a chance and stick with it. If you find the characters appealing at all, you should enjoy this novel.

This book was provided by International Book Tours.

Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison