L. B. AnneReseñas

This was a well written YA Fantasy. I love a good vs evil story. I enjoyed Sheena's character and reading about her juggling her normal life and her powers. I think this would be a good book for many people and I am glad I got to read it. I look forward to book 2.

This is about a very close group of friends that have decided to fight for right. Continuing this fight, memories return and start the "change". They are determined to fight the darkness. Classic good vs evil. Who will win?

Cute short little story of a brother and sister. They are interviewed for a school project. Winkle embarrasses his sister, but also sticks up for her.

Loved it

This series starts after the events of the Sheena Meyer series. So you need to read the Sheena Meyer series first to get the set up and introductions.
Sheena, her friends and family face new challenges in their fight against the evil Murk. They gain more information. This book has a cliff hanger ending.

Despite a slow start, I became really interested in Sheena Meyer and her friends. Their ties are more than those of "just" friends. They need to be connected on a deeper level. These "Knights of the Gleam" are striving to be united against a dark force that wants to crush all hope. Miscommunications, family matters, new discoverings of the battles they are facing hamper attempts to keep focused on the ultimate goal.
This book features chapters from different members of the knights. It took me just a couple of minutes to figure this out, as the character who's featured in each chapter had their name just a little obscured by the chapter openings graphics.
By the end of the book, I just knew a cliffhanger was coming and I was bummed because I needed to read the rest of the story. Book Two will be out very soon.

One concern: one scene had a paintball gun being shot very close to someone's head. Many people assume that this would not really be dangerous, but the pressure could actually be lethal.

This book review.... honestly? It was hard to write. It's been a long week and this book just didn't sit well with me. Like any other human being who had a rough week, I didn't have a lot of positives to say (which doesn't go along with my book reviewing brand). I saw on this book review, restarted it a few times, and I think I finally have some words.

1. This book was 100% not for me. I didn't connect with it and I struggled right through to the very end. It wasn't a bad book, but wasn't the kind of book I connected with.

2. The story didn't give enough explanation for me to care. I'm the kind of reader who likes to understand the plot and not have a cliffhanger making me ask for more. This book didn't match my preferences. A lot is not explained and we're led to believe the rest of the series will have the answers.

3. Our lead is "not normal." She sees angels but we're not given too much about it. The plot jumps around a bit which makes the book hard to follow. The idea is great, but the follow through didn't work for me.

4. Angels send text messages now?

Overall, this book was not a home run for me. It needed some more time in the development stage so the book could stand alone as a story that drew enough interest for me to enjoy it.

One out of five stars.

The forward by Darlene Bell revels about the authors authority on African American and Indigenous people’s history and says she has written a tale that deeply explores a journey a cultural past through the eyes of a child.

A canoe made from a cypress tree, a painting of a black Seminole Warrior. The underground railroad didn’t only run North, it ran south to Spanish Florida.

The illustrations are substantially placed in the stories, and nicely done. There was a dramatic scene of a freed, former slave and a child being captured. Their family’s built chickees, where the top was thatched palmetto leaves, and the sides were open to the outside, and easy to tear down and put up. It didn’t protect them from the cold wind and blowing rain, but it provided some shelter.

I admired Talula’s tenacity, bravery, and curiosity, as well as Mia’s. The definitions at the end were also helpful as well as more to know about the historical characters within the story, as well as learning something about the culture and heritage of the people. The facts about the dragonflies were a cute side note that I learned about.

• Dragonflies are born underwater and live in the dark. When one first emerges, it appears colorless and transparent. But when sunlight hits its body, it becomes beautiful, colorful, and magical.

• Native Americans believed dragonflies were once dragons.

• Dragonflies lay their eggs in water, and when the larvae hatch, they live underwater for up to two years. Depending on the altitude and latitude, some species may stay in the larval state for up to six years. They'll molt up to seventeen times as they grow and get ready to head to the surface to transform into the dragonflies we see in the air.

Sheena is a young teen who has a gift of seeing angels, she saw one touch her dad after he had a bad accident and he recovered against all odds. With the help of Mr Tobias an old man she meets she learns that her gift comes at a price of the Murk hurting the people she was closest too.
This was an interesting story, full of wonder, teenage angst and high school drama, the plot was good but I do feel it was just too short, just as you get into the book it has finished, thankfully it is a series so I will be picking up the next to find out what happens next and hopefully it clears up some unanswered questions I have.
Alaura Howery performed this in a way that captures you, she put all of the emotion in and I felt her delivery was brilliant.

I thought this was a great read. It's about a boy who is a genius but is an introvert and feeling invisible with his teachers and other adults. He has a diverse set of friends who also feel invisible. Together they come up with a plan to show people who they are. Cute illustrations and great message. Ending was cute.

Ever since a good friend recommended it to me, I have been wanting to read Dustin Thao's famous book, You've Reached Sam. And so when I saw that Never Really Gone is meant to be reminiscent of You've Reached Sam, I knew I had to read it! (I will be reading You've Reached Sam next.)

The set-up and plot of Never Really Gone, though not completely original, were still nicely done. The book begins at the funeral of our main character's boyfriend. I immediately felt for Gabriella and remained invested in her story throughout the book.

I have seen one review that complains that the story doesn't take grief or mental health seriously enough, but as someone who has grieved and who has gone through significant struggles with mental health, I didn't find this to be true at all. Gabriella is numb and depressed throughout the exposition, but as the plot thickens and mystery and danger unravel, she is able to pull out of the numbness and is eventually able to come to terms with Micah's death and find closure. Her parents, Micah's best friend, and her sister Elle also help along the way, and I didn't find that aspect of the story to be unrealistic at all.

*Spoilers in next two paragraphs!* I did have a few questions while reading the climax, though. For example, what was going on with Shaun? Was he a ghost or something all along, then? And if so, if he was still able to physically be in the real world, why did Micah have to stay confined to mirrors?

And wasn't it a stupid decision for Brie and Chase to enter the bar the way they did? Why did the police let them? Raul could've killed them both, easy, when he found out the police were coming (think how the Germans killed all of the people at the concentration camps during WW2 when they found out that the Allies were coming to free them). Knowing Raul, he would've done that just out of spite, but for some reason, he didn't. That was a little unrealistic.

However, those two things are basically the only issues I had with the book, and overall, I found Never Really Gone to be a fantastic read! I appreciated the space the author gave for mental health issues (specifically for grief and anorexia) and how she included a diverse cast into the story without the annoying political messaging we sometimes see. I would recommend this book to YA readers (ages 13-16), though the writing style is more at a middle-grade level.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own, and I was not required to leave a positive review.

I really enjoyed this one! The concept (teenager Gabriella is mourning the death of her boyfriend Micah, then starts to see and communicate with him posthumously) was a good and interesting one.

Gabriella as a character was excellent...she seemed very realistic, even in her responses to this paranormal occurrence.

I had a hard time putting the book down, as I couldn't wait to find out what was really happening to Gabriella, and how it would all be resolved. The ending did not disappoint!

I thought that the overall message of this book was great, but the story and pacing of events were just too unbelievable and unrealistic for me, even taking into account that this is a book for younger readers. I also didn't like the way NFTs were included as a plot point without addressing any of the concerns/issues about them.

Never Really Gone is a young adult book that I could not put down as soon as I started reading, L.B. Anne has created compelling characters in a mysterious and supernatural book. Gabriella is a teen who has just lost her boyfriend to COVID-19. The book opens with his funeral and Anne puts the reader in the church and graveyard with Gabriella. That feeling of being right there does not abate and with the appearance of Micah, the deceased boyfriend, you're sucked in to finding why he is haunting Gabriella. This is a really good book and I recommend it.

Great Read

Totally confused by the author stating that she is a Christian science fiction author, what does that mean? Not a Christian Science author but a Science Fiction Author who is a Christian.? I think it would be helpful for the author to clarify that.

Going on to the book, I had a difficult time reading it until I remembered the old TV sitcom, Topper, which was inspired by the 1937 movie. I loved that comedy and fantasy show so I pretended that the dead boyfriend, Micah was a Topper type of character.

L.B. Anne, picked a very difficult subject, the death of a boyfriend who was the closest friend of Gabriella. The grieving part at the beginning was a very familiar situation to write about to teens. Gabby saw Micah in a mirror and it scared her. When my brother died of suicide, I grieved deeply for him and even felt his presence for a while after death. I wonder if this subject is serious to deal with the plot of this book. Gabby thinks she may be going crazy and is greatly relieved to find out that Micah's friend, Chase also saw Micah's reflection in the refrigeration door. Then the plot changes from strong grief and a mystery. I wonder if would have been better for the author to stop the book and bluntly say that story is changing from profound grief to an adventure/mystery. I felt uncomfortable going from the most painful of our experiences to a story that is more fantasy. Without pretending that Micah was a fictional ghost like Topper, I could have not be able to read the rest of the book.

This book by L. B. Anne was easy to read and seemed to be the right level for a middle school child. The black and white illustrations were interesting and appropriate to the story. I think a child reading this first book would look forward to additional books about Jaxson. From an adult perspective, the characters were a little stereotypical but I don’t think this would be a turn-off for a child. I liked the idea of the kids taking action themselves to address a perceived problem (not being seen) as I believe nothing is solved if you simply sit and complain. That said, without Jaxson’s unusual resources children would not be able to accomplish what the kids in the books accomplished – but that’s what makes it truly fiction! Overall, I would recommend this book.

This book was phenominal. It is not a book i would typically be interested in however it shocked me how good it was. I would read it again. Read in a few hours. Kept me engaged and wanting to read more. I would 10/10 recomend!

A tad unrealistic and unbelievable, but It’s Me, Jaxon! Can You See Me? makes a good point. Do we not see those that are disabled, those that are different, those with darker skin, those that are shy, or those that blend in? What are we missing? Who are we missing? What great things does everyone have to offer if only we ‘see’ them?

Jaxon is a genius although his mother, teachers, or friends never saw it (a little hard to believe). He loves drawing and finds a way to tell his story through a mural that has the whole town talking. Will they see him now? So, stop judging and start seeing. Look around.

Illustrated.

3 1/2 t0 4 stars.

Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers, JOA Press, and L.B. Anne for this ARC.½

I received a copy of this middle grade novel by the author for a review. By no means does this influence my opinion of this YA story.

Aria Meyer a college student in Ypsilanti, Michigan in her dorm room preparing a speech for her class and spots a Snow White owl in a tree outside her window is the opening scene in the novel. Aria is then transported in time.

I could so identify with with the time era of 1980s. The Crissy doll, Cabbage Parch Kids, and the music. The story touched on the subjects of bullying, dying, marriage separation, love, faith, forgiveness, and depression.

The story got a little muddled for me around chapter 19, but quickly becomes clearer in the next chapter. It wasn’t revealed to me until the very end that this was the first installment into a series. I enjoyed this YA novel. It played out in my mind like a movie. It’s a quick read, but a good read. I look forward to more from this author.