New Releases! Retribution Rails

Retribution Rails by Erin Bowman

Retribution Rails by Erin Bowman is absolutely fantastic. The novel takes the reader back to the days of Wild Wild West. The storyline follows The Rose Kid, Reece Murphy, who doesn't exactly enjoy having the title of being a violent hood. Captured years earlier by a vicious gang The Rose Riders, Reece was forced to become part of the gang and follow along with all of their illegal activities. Reece gets caught up with a ambitious young lady, Charlotte, whose evil uncle makes her long for a change in her life. Though they're nearly enemies, fate might bring an unlikely companionship between the two.

    Bowman does an amazing job with the setting and really grasping the concept of the West during the 1800s. Many a time I've actually felt like I myself was in Jesse and Kate’s kitchen, listening to their conversations. The plot to the story is a rich and well-thought out plot, with meaningful points to the events taking place. The connections between characters take a smooth transition and are overall grand. Bowman makes vivid descriptions of everything! From characters to settings, she's blew me away at the level of greatness that comes along with her writing. Throughout both books, Retribution Rails and Vengeance Road (the companion book) the overall greatness of the novels makes me appreciate the Wild West as a topic and Erin Bowman as an author making wonderful stories, expanding my horizons.

Title: Retribution Rails

Author: Erin Bowman

Published By: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Released On: November 7, 2017

Review by Allison P.

New to Our Shelves

How It Ends

By Catherine Lo

Your best friends can make the worst enemies! Currently I just finished reading the book How it Ends by Catherine Lo. The author writes in two characters point of view, Annie and Jessie who become best friends. The two girls became best friends after Annie moved with her new family to the suburbs where Jessie lives. Jessie isn't really a popular person and she is surprised when Annie reaches out to her to become friends.

   The two characters are complete opposites and it's interesting to see how their friendship works throughout the story. Jessie is very insecure because of the way she was bullied by her ex-best friend in 7th grade. She has to go through many therapies and doesn't have friends at school until Annie comes and reaches out to her. Annie is the opposite of Jessie, she is very outgoing and sticks up for herself. Her mom passed away 6 years ago and Annie really doesn't like who her dad has married because her dad doesn't talk about her mom anymore and it feels to Annie as though her mom totally disappeared and isn't a thought. Since her dad has a new wife, her life has changed and not in a positive way for Annie.

   I recommend this book to people who like to read about drama, realistic fiction and teen fiction. I enjoyed this book very much because it was constantly moving and had a problem or something going on on every page and I couldn't stop flipping the pages. Also since there are two points of view it was interesting to see both people's sides to the story. I would rate this book a 4.5!

Review by: Kylee D.