The Clearing by Heather Davis

Summary from Barnes and Noble:

In this bittersweet romance, two teens living decades apart form a bond that will change their lives forever.

Amy is drawn to the misty, mysterious clearing behind her Aunt Mae's place because it looks like the perfect place to hide from life. A place to block out the pain of her last relationship, to avoid the kids in her new town, to stop dwelling on what her future holds after high school.

Then, she meets a boy lurking in the mist - Henry. Henry is different from any other guy Amy has ever known. And after several meetings in the clearing, she's starting to fall for him.

But Amy is stunned when she finds out just how different Henry really is. Because on his side of the clearing, it's still 1944. By some miracle, Henry and his family are stuck in the past, staving off the tragedy that will strike them in the future. Amy's crossing over to Henry's side brings him more happiness than he's ever known - but her presence also threatens to destroy his safe existence.

In The Clearing, author Heather Davis crafts a tender and poignant tale about falling in love, finding strength, and having the courage to make your own destiny - a perfect book to slip into and hide away for awhile.

Review:
 
After Heather's lackluster of a first novel, I wasn't sure too sure of what to except from The Clearing. Luckily, it turned out to be a big step up from the disaster that was Never Cry Werewolf. Simply because The Clearing was everything that Never Cry Werewolf wasn't. What was that? Well a beautifully told and heart-wrenching (slightly paranormal) love story between two teens that will leave you absolutely breathless by the end and pondering what exactly happens next to these two characters that you can't help but love. 
 
The Clearing is told in the point of view of not only Amy, but Henry too, leaving you to see both feelings, desires, and wants from life. Amy is a character whose been hurt a lot in her short time on Earth because from her abusive, jerk of an ex-boyfriend to untrustworthy friends she's defiantly had her share of tears, but all this changes when she meet the marvelous Henry who has also seen his share of heartbreak. Together, they begin to make sense of the lives they have been given and help lift and see each other in a way that they can't do themselves. I absolutely loved their relationship with each other because of the fact of how real it felt. Since at first they start out as friends, but in the end  they became so much more of then what they excepted, leaving such a strong and innocent love to bloom, and in all showing you that true love can exist and come to you when you least except it.
 
The plot while basic, never managed to have me the least bit bored because of how caught up I was in Henry and Amy's lives. And while the writing could have been better and the story more developed, I overlooked it's flawed ways instead seeing The Clearing as what it was meant to be; a story that gives you hope that when facing huge problems you can be strong and overcome them, becoming a person you're proud to be becasue of it.
 
And the ending, oh my, was something I wasn't excepting in the least, and while it did have it's faults, I went along with it and hoped that somehow everything in these character's lives ended up being the way it was supposed to be: magical.
 
In all, I highly suggest that no matter who you are, you give this novel a try because I promise you that you won't be the least bit disappointed in this tale.
 
Grade: A-
 
The Clearing is now out!
 
Source: Publicist. Thanks J!

Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis

Summary:

Moonlight can totally change your life.

And it all starts so simply.

You. Him.

The moon.

You're toast.

Okay, so maybe Shelby has made a few mistakes with boys lately (how was she supposed to know Wes had "borrowed" that Porsche?). But her stepmother totally overreacts when she catches Shelby in a post-curfew kiss with a hot senior: Suddenly Shelby's summer plans are on the shelf, and she's being packed off to brat camp. It's good-bye, prom dress; hello, hiking boots.

Things start looking up, though, when Shelby meets fellow camper (and son of a rock star) Austin Bridges III. But soon she realizes there's more to Austin than crush material—his family has a dark secret, and he wants Shelby's help guarding it. Shelby knows that she really shouldn't be getting tangled up with another bad boy . . . but who is she to turn her back on a guy in need, especially such a good-looking one? One thing's for sure: That pesky full moon is about to get her into trouble all over again.

Review:

When I received this in the mail a couple of weeks ago, I was so excited. Since, I'm loving the whole uprising of "werewolves" in YA. Plus, I adored the cover and I still do, it's just that classic pretty. Sadly enough, Never Cry Werewolf, wasn't as fantastic as I expected it to be.

First off, the characters for the most part were not fully developed and semi bland. Shelby was the classic "my mom died and I can't stand my new step-mom, so I'm going to do everything to annoy the crap out of her" girl which got on my nerves at times. Also, I couldn't stand how she constantly got herself in huge trouble for Austin, especially in the situation that happens in the first couple of chapters. Seriously, for most of the book, she didn't even know him that well and to top things off she had a feeling there was something not right about him. But, yet, she always came to his beck and call when he needed her help. Though, during the end of the book, I came to a good place with her, were I didn't quite love her but at the same time didn't full out hate Shelby. Since, I began to take in her reasoning for acting the way she does and I started to understand her love for Austin even if he wasn't the most normal guy out there. Austin though was a character that I did enjoy reading about even with his faults. I felt mostly sorry for him, because of how he had to always keep part of himself hidden from the real world. Also, towards, the end I really liked how he began to come up with ideas that would effect Shelby in a good way, instead of a bad one. The other characters, such as Ariel and Prince, were ones I liked but didn't always have enough appearances as I wanted them too.

The plot was interesting, but there wasn't enough build-up, suspense, or mystery until the end. For instance, you basically knew that Austin was a werewolf from the start. Leaving no suspense to when you officially knew yes, he was a werewolf. Plus, for most of the book, some of the situations were drawn out in a unnecessary way, which left them to be boring, not exciting as they should have been. Lastly, the whole story didn't begin to get the feeling of excitement until the end and when you finally were happy to find out what happened next, the story just ended.

Overall, while Never Cry Werewolf has an interesting premise, it wasn't executed in a way that brought excitement or mystery. Leaving me to suggest that you pick this up at the library when it's released or what for the paperback. Since, it's not fully worth the $16.99 price tag.

Though, I would like to say, that even with the problems this novel had, I still will continue to read Heather's books. Since, I have a feeling that she has talent that will better as time goes on and more books are written.

Grade: C

Never Cry Werewolf will be released September 1st, 2009.

*Much thanks to MB at Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this book! :)