D. Ogden Huff

For complete review, visit here: http://bit.ly/KOhQjE

YA speculative fiction isn't usually my thing (I usually go for meatier fare), but I've been devouring a lot of different books lately and the premise of this plot seemed intriguing. I confess, once I got to the action sequences, I couldn't put it down until the climax resolved. Unfortunately, that was 4:30am.

Ms. Huff does a pretty good job of capturing the emotional walls built up by an isolated teenager, as well as his starvation for human contact and blossoming of character when he finally connects with someone he trusts. I also liked the camaraderie between Beau and his twin brother, Bryce, his lifeline to humanity until Rose helps him break out of his shell.

Reading it brought to mind another YA speculative fiction book I read this year, Sting, by B.J. Rowley. I review that book here. The premises are very similar: outsider boy shuns physical contact until "new girl" who doesn't know better, they make a connection, danger and skullduggery ensue. I won't draw further similarities so as not to spoil the plot. Despite the familiar ring, the plot stands well on its own in both originality and execution. Ms. Huff's voice is her own, and she draws out the disparate sensibilities of her various characters with skill.

One sidebar: Ms. Ogden begins on page one with a note to the reader about the "soundtrack" to her book, offering suggestions of music she enjoys, as well as Internet links to the various artists. I shrugged. Whatever. However, scattered throughout the book are more prompts to more websites for more music. I found this very distracting and detracting from her story. Great for a supplemental website—for a book, not so much.

When I read, I like to be submersed in the tale, flowing smoothly from scene to scene playing out in my head. Jarring me to the surface with these prompts left me coughing and sputtering and gasping for air. Perhaps her target audience is different. Plugged in as they are, wired for sound, they probably are, but when I read, block out all other sound so I can hear the voices speaking in my head.

Final Word: I liked this book and look forward to reading the sequel, Supreme Chancellor of Stupidity.… (más)

Read complete review here: http://bit.ly/L4pqDf

I had fun reading Ms. Huff's second installment of her Beau & Bryce Blair trilogy. Like Master of Emotion which I reviewed here, this story is told in first person. However, Supreme Chancellor of Stupidity speaks with the voice of Beau's twin brother, Bryce, a smart Alec, charmer, and terminal flirt.

Nicely juxtaposed against Beau's brooding isolation and channeling of emotions without thoughts, Bryce, a semi‒ Big Man On Campus, reads thoughts without the emotions. He uses his talent to anticipate football plays and connect with the ladies. Think What Women Want (Paramount 2000) with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. Unfortunately, like all rakes with true hearts of gold, Bryce falls and falls hard for the one girl who refuses to give him the time of day because he's that kind of scoundrel. What's a guy to do? Enlist the help of a dating coach, of course, and instigate a faux relationship to practice his new resolutions.

Starving for affection, Bryce realizes that, despite outward appearances, he has isolated himself as completely as had his brother, Beau, and sincerely wishes to create real relationships in his life. He seeks the help of Smart Girl Emily who takes on his case, partly out of sympathy and partly as research material for the psychology book she will write one day. Unfortunately, the strategy is not without its costs. Determined to cease using his superpowers for evil, his exclusivity antagonizes his cheerleader groupies and his popularity plummets. He is forced to watch (and seriously doubt himself) as he swaps social positions Beau, who doesn't like the limelight at all.

While Bryce learns to keep his eyes and hands to himself, he makes progress by leaps and bounds. Eventually, the bells go off in the head of his dream girl/original target, but his relationship with Emily has crossed over from practice to sincere attachment. His new-found moral fiber prevents him from dumping the comfortable relationship with the sweet girl for whom he harbors sincere fondness for the love-at-first-sight bombshell who, quite literally, steals his breath away. Circumspection, moral dilemmas and high jinx ensue.

They say a mother shouldn't have favorites, but with her deft touch and delicate hand in creating this character, I can easily tell which of the two eighteen-year-olds connects best with Ms. Huff. Bryce is written as genuinely charming. His self-doubt and personal struggle ring true, his flippant remarks and sarcasm feel natural, and the reader easily envisions the cocky smile and sparkling eyes he so readily flashes at the targets of his flirtation. He's the guy girls of any sense know better than to get involved with but can't help but like just the same. The author has done a great job of getting into Bryce's head.

Dr. Cavan, our arch villain, looms in the background threatening the happiness of our heroes and their friends, and one or two surprise revelations lay in store for the boys. However, Bryce's journey from womanizing neanderthal to evolved human worthy of true love remains the primary focus of this book. SCoS is a bridge between MoE and Ms. Huff's third yet-to-be-released installment, Dictator of Disaster. Think The Empire Strikes Back of the original Star Wars trilogy.

Bottom line: a fun read and a good lead-in to Dictator of Disaster, which promises a distinct flavor and narrative voice of its own.… (más)

Read complete review here: http://bit.ly/LYfss0

To be totally honest, I am always a touch leery of "Mormon" literature. Don't get me wrong: I like to read books about characters who try to hold to the same standards as my own. I enjoy reading about their struggles to live in but not of the world. I especially appreciate getting through an entire book without being blindsided by gratuitous sexual content or foul language or graphic violence or any combination of the three. I believe it's possible to tell interesting stories without having to resort to the salacious, and I appreciate it when the authors I read prove it.

However, I don't care to be preached at. When I want to read about Gospel doctrine, I head to the nonfiction aisle and, more often than not, authors whose names begin with "Elder". More importantly, I don't believe that LDS writers should be held to a lower standard simply because they are LDS. Sacrificing quality for safety is a lose:lose situation. We are an educated people. Shouldn't the literature we produce reflect that?

All of the above illustrates why I truly enjoy reading Ms. Huff. Her only overtly LDS work, Once Upon A Tour is, hands down, my favorite of the three I have read. The premise is a simple one—Mormon girl strikes out on her own in search of romance and finds herself in way above her head in a secular, instant-gratification world—but Ms. Huff manages to employ her fresh approach and insightful characters to flesh out the tale and make it her own.

She peppers her story with what feels like firsthand experience in touring Eastern Europe—Romania, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland—and manages to make her locales integral to the plot. She also intersperses Alina's fanciful prose in the story, which serves well when the character's little stories and overactive imagination get her into plenty of trouble. When life begins to reflect art, Alina struggles to differentiate the two.

I must admit here that I fretted in the beginning because Alina was acting—well—not like a good Mormon girl should, letting herself be hit on by a handsome stranger, getting way too physical way too fast, allowing him all sorts of presumptions, and I had difficulty accepting the speed with which their relationship moved. But, Ms. Huff puts Alina's indiscretions to good purpose and crafts a tale about temptation, redemption, true love vs. physical attraction, and how easy it is to get swept away by our emotions when we let down our guard.

Ms. Huff manages all this convincingly without preaching or teaching a Sunday school class. In my opinion, some spiritual experiences are lost in any translation—"words cannot express"—and shouldn't be attempted, but too many LDS fiction authors do just that. The result is unfortunate. In thinking about it, maybe I just believe such profound truths shouldn't be fictionalized.

Ms. Huff nicely "fades to black", more or less, in the scenes alluding to Alina's spiritual experiences. She doesn't try to quote prayers or scriptures or describe moments of personal revelation in intimate detail. Rather, she focuses on the results, which I find very refreshing.

On the flip side, Alina's indiscretions sometimes get on the far side of PG-13—the far, far side—which made me squirmy. But then, I believe that in itself presents a problem with which writers of LDS romance struggle. At least it is for me. Good writing is about evoking visceral responses in the reader. How does one convey the emotions, both good and bad, without pushing into the squirmy place? Even so, it's a skill worth honing for, in the words of my sister, "I don't want to read a Mormon Harlequin romance."

I'm a fade-to-black person myself. I have written the other and have decided that I would rather not steam up the proverbial car windows of my readers with lots of heavy breathing. I want to inspiring more elevated sensibilities—sentiments more worthy of my efforts. Writing historical fiction makes that easier because the social norms were far more strict in my time period of choice, but I believe Ms. Huff does a fairly good job of finding the balance for contemporary fiction. She teeters, but manages to step back from the edge, which I believe is the whole point of the story.

Bottom line: I recommend this book and look forward to Ms. Huff's future efforts. How do you feel about LDS romantic fiction? Who is your favorite LDS writer?… (más)