FROM THE BOOK COVER:

THESE CHILDREN WILL MELT YOUR HEART - AND FREEZE IT

Little Julie. Little Stephen. Little Lorraine. Three little children, found abandoned in different parts of the country. Three wonderfully sweet and startlingly gifted children who won the hearts of the grown-ups who adopted them.

But now all three children were gone. Had they run away or been stolen? Their foster parents had to find them to find out. And on a rescue search that lead them across America and into a world-within-a-world ruled by a psychically terrifying envoy of evil, little did they realize that the young ones they loved so briefly were now the unwitting possessors of a deadly power to harm...

A SHORT PASSAGE FROM THE BOOK :
(GOOD LITTLE GIRL, AND BAD, BAD MAN)

Lorraine knew that the man was doing a bad thing when he unzipped his pants. His voice sounded funny, rasping. "Hey, kid."

"Go away!" Lorraine cried. "You got out of here!"

The man shot toward her with lightning speed. He grabbed a handful of her jet-black hair. "You little..."

Whatever words he was going to say were obliterated by sudden cry of pain. His eyes grew so wide the whites showed all the way around as he let Lorraine go. A minute later he fell to the floor, screaming, holding up a bleeding stump where his hand was supposed to be...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clare McNally attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City where she studied advertising and communication. She has worked on a children's wear magazine, freelanced as an advertising copywriter and edited a technical magazine. She lives on Long Island. Her novels "Ghost House" and "Ghost House Revenge" are also published by Onyx.

MY OPINION ABOUT "CRIES OF THE CHILDREN"

I found the first few chapters of the book very interesting. In fact, I couldn't put it down for hours guessing continuously what would happen next. However, as the events progressed, the plot became less and less intense. The initial mystery, mixed with the fantasy and some degree of horror , turned into a rescue mission in the following chapters.

The problem with the novel is in its portrayal of children (actually aliens from the planet Ixtaura, as we are informed in the end) as sweet, innocent victims, being hunted by a government agency even though they possess supernatural powers not matched by any human. Imagine lions being chased by mice.

Illogical, boring and stupid.

Imota Dinaroid ( )