Melody Writes

Original Review written in September 2016 on Goodreads . The Review: It sounds like a simple wish - to be remembered when you die. That is Shari Cooper's wish, but when she falls to her death from a balcony at the age of 18, she didn't have a chance to make her mark. Remember Me is the story of Shari's quest to find her murderer and make some sort of posthumous mark on the world. This, like Until the End, is one of Christopher Pike's trilogies republished as one omnibus. Also like Until the End, it might have been better as one book. The first of the three - also called Remember Me - is the best part. It's a simple teen murder mystery with a supernatural element. The tension is solid and I enjoyed figuring out who might have killed Shari. I had read this book years ago, but had forgotten who the killer was. What I also enjoyed about the story was its emotion. Sometimes Pike got a little silly when Shari was looking into people's dreams, but there we...

Review originally written in 2015 on Goodreads .   The Review: Before Stephen King eclipsed all other authors in my heart, there was another. One I think of as my "pre-Stephen-King" and that was Christopher Pike. I devoured all of his books I could get a hold of in high school. The other big horror writer of the day was R. L. Stine and I don't remember what it was that I preferred in Christopher Pike. I think I liked how some of his stories were less "evil dead cheerleader" and more "bizarro sci-fi murder mystery". With time travel. And lizard people evolving into humans. Recently, I've noticed Pike's been making something of a comeback, so I thought it might be interesting to revisit some of the YA out when I was a teen (dating myself I know). I began this trip with one of Pike's most popular series, the Final Friends trilogy, now republished as one book, Until the End . I should note that this isn't my first return to Pike...

Title: Nothing But the Willows Author: J. D. Buffington   This is my second time reading and reviewing J. D. Buffington's work. Previously, I read and enjoyed his take on the Medusa myth: Come Hither, No Malice ( Review here ). So, when he was looking for people to review his short story collection, I happily volunteered, and was not disappointed. Buffington's stories are unique and varied. Many are told in first person narrative, but he also experiments with screenplay format and second-person. I would classify the stories generally under horror, but many have strong elements of sci-fi, fantasy, drama, and inspire more emotions than fear. Buffington's author bio states, "He seamlessly weaves vivid nightmares and haunting anxiety together to immerse readers into a state of fright and wonder," and I believe that this collection demonstrates that. The best stories in the collection offer up a sense of wonder along with the fears. A few of my favourites that best ...