Kai Strand

Have you ever volunteered for an organization that helps people in need? If so, how did it make you feel? Doing for others, whether it’s providing meals, taking someone to the doctor, mowing lawns, or whatever brings joy not only to the recipient but to the volunteer as well. Or it should.

In Author Kai Strand’s latest young adult novel, I AM ME, we meet Lola Renaldi, a high school senior who has most everything a girl could want. Being wealthy doesn’t always mean being happy, however. Lola and her mother disagree on many things, like which college she should attend, which boy she should like, and how she should dress, among other things.

I like the way Lola stands up for herself, even though she sometimes has doubts about what she is doing. Lola volunteers at a kitchen where she helps serve food to those in need. She also helps build houses, where she meets Rodney, a boy who is different from the other boys she knows. He has secrets, and she cannot figure him out.

Kai Strand has created characters that are not perfect but seem so real they might be your neighbors. Lola makes mistakes. She doesn’t always know what’s best for her to do. But Lola is loyal to her best friend when she gets in trouble. And then there’s Rodney (Rod) who has stolen her heart. What will she do when she learns the truth about him?

I AM ME touches on situations that many teens face today. Perhaps Kai Strand’s novel will help them make tough decisions and see that they are “Me,” not who someone else wants them to be. This story would make a great addition to high school libraries as well as public libraries. Recommended.… (mehr)

Super Bad by Kai Strand
Book #3: Super Villain Academy Series
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
My Review:

**REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!**

Well, crap!! Super Bad opens weeks after the end of book two, Polar Opposites and the scene isn’t pretty. Jeff has been missing since the explosion, his sister is still recuperating at an exceptionally slow rate, and the crime rate around the world is on the rise. The situation is beyond bleak and none of the supers seem to care one way or another. In fact, it’s not even the villains (if they were still villains) committing the crimes but normals who aren’t being contained by the police. The police aren’t able to contain the growing crime rate because the white hats (if they were still white hats) can’t seem to muster the will to jump in and help. Yeah, the world is kind of going to hell in a handbasket.

On the other side of the world, Mystic finally has what she wants, Jeff Mean (aka Polar) and he has no clue who he really is. Under Mystic’s influence, Polar begins committing crimes and finds he likes being bad but something inside him tells him not to trust Mystic. Another not-so-happy discovery is that Jeff’s powers still aren’t in control and they seem to be growing at an almost exponential rate. Though he isn’t sure, Jeff’s gut points him in the direction of home and so, with the evil as ever Mystic in tow, he returns to his hometown in the hopes of getting help.

In the meantime, Jeff’s sister, Sandra is facing her own issues. One the one hand, she made it through surgery with flying colors but on the other hand, her powers seem to be diminishing and there is no explanation as to why. As if the diminishing powers weren’t enough, Sandra also seems to have developed an unnatural attachment to Set. Yeah, I said Set. Interestingly, as the days go by Sandra’s attachment to Set becomes so strong that she has to maintain physical contact with him. To say this is troubling doesn’t even come close and if someone doesn’t find a solution quick, the world is going to be in even more trouble than it already is.

As Jeff, Sandra, their parents, Set, Source, and a few others work to solve a whole lot of problems all at once, the world is falling apart faster than they can solve problems. As if it couldn’t get worse, it does get worse when Sandra is taken. Her diminished powers and her separation from Set make her both particularly vulnerable and an excellent bargaining chip. The dumbasses who took her want the balancing reversed and since Jeff caused it, they are using Sandra to encourage him to reverse his work. Trouble is, Jeff has no idea how to undo the balancing but if he doesn’t figure it out quick the world may quite literally come to an end.

The Bottom Line: Well, who the hell saw this coming?? Kai Strand really did put together something kind of fantastic here. For almost the entirety of the book the drama continues to escalate until just before the end when it all comes to an end in a most astonishing way. Though I would have liked to see a few more characters get what they deserve, on both the good and bad sides, I was generally satisfied with the end of this book and series. The action throughout is fun, the drama is just right, the characters are interesting and engaging, and the romance is just right for a YA+ read.… (mehr)

Polar Opposites by Kai Strand
Book #2: Super Villain Academy Series
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

When Jeff Means (aka Polar) finally got a chance to kiss his crush, Oceanus something amazing happened, they stopped the world, twice. When everything rebooted, it seems that kiss balanced the world of supers. Cool! Kind of . . . .

Since the balancing all of the super academies have totally revamped their curriculums, there are no longer designations like villain and white hat, and everybody is playing nice with one another. As long as Jeff has Oceanus by his side, the world will stay in balance and everyone is happy. Kind of . . . .

Mystic is still running around at large and she isn’t happy about the loss of Jeff. Inexplicably, Mystic seems to still be all kinds of evil and in that spirit, she takes Oceanus. Instantly, Jeff is ready to rally the troops and find his girlfriend but he seems to be the only super willing to do anything. Even his mom and dad, two of the greatest supers in living memory don’t seem too excited about tracking down Oceanus. With each stall, Jeff gets more and more angry and interestingly, his powers seem to be getting more and more out of control. When Oceanus was with him, Jeff’s powers were totally under control but since she’s been gone something seems to be seriously off and he can’t seem to get anything under control. With his options for finding Oceanus running out, Jeff turns to the most unlikely of sources for help, her ex-boyfriend, Set.

Yeah, Set, the one guy Jeff never, ever thought he would have to turn to for help but here he is, on the jerk’s front porch. Though the clues to finding Oceanus aren’t plentiful, Set has sources and he eventually tracks down some promising information. As more time goes by, Jeff becomes even more unstable and finding Oceanus becomes as much about her safety as everyone else’s safety. With this in mind, more supers close to Jeff become involved in his search and when they finally, finally track down Oceanus and Mystic, it is far worse than any of them could have imagined.

The Bottom Line: You know what? I am kind of digging this whole Super Villain Academy series! Round two has just as much action as round one but the stakes are even higher this time. Not only is Oceanus’s life in danger but so is the world’s. Jeff’s out of control powers aren’t the only result of the balancing and in fact, the balancing seems to have had some interesting side effects that no one could have predicted. The unpredictability makes the race to save Oceanus all the more exciting and when they finally find her, the results are explosive. The book doesn’t necessarily end with a huge cliffhanger but it does end with some unanswered questions which leaves the reader with a clear desire to dive right on in to book three, Super Bad. I dove right on in . . .… (mehr)

The Weaver is a truly unique story about a girl named Mary who lives in The Tales. It is a village, as the opening paragraph describes, whose inhabitants “can tell stories about anything at anytime and often do.” Storytelling doesn’t come easy for Mary and she watches as her peers advance in their skill while she still struggles with the basics. It is difficult for her. Her own mother is considered to be among the best story weavers and the perceived expectation, and subsequent disappointment, that Mary should easily follow in her footsteps makes Mary’s seeming lack of ability all the more unbearable. One day a chance meeting with a magical creature changes Mary’s life, but it is up to her to find out the true meaning of that change.

As the mother of an extremely brilliant child who is often feels held back by his learning disabilities, this story struck a resonant chord. It isn’t that Mary isn’t capable, she just hasn’t found a way that works for her. Though she feels that the weight of unspoken criticism alienates her from her peers and loved ones, the truth is she is well loved for who she is, not judged by what she hasn’t been able to accomplish yet. As she comes to understand that and finds her own way, her life changes in wondrous ways.

The characters in this delightful tale are vivid and fun. Like Mary, I would have a difficult time weaving tales. I would still love to live in this charming place. I love how the theme of practice and perseverance is, pardon the pun, woven throughout the story. My favorite quote is “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.” There are no quick fixes in life.

This book is recommended for children ages 9-12. The reading level is appropriate for that age range, however I believe it would make an excellent bedtime story for much younger children. It should be a staple in every elementary special education classroom library.

I will definitely be looking for the next books in this series.… (mehr)