Wanda Horton Reviews

Added December 30, 2003

Summer Song

Author: Wanda Horton
Publisher: Amber Quill Press
Available At: www.amberquill.com
Publishing Date: December 2003
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Trade Paperback & Ebook download in HTML/PDF/LIT
Price: $5.50 ebook
ISBN: 1-59279-877-2 paperback, 1-59279-186-7 ebook
Author Email/Website:www.ntpwa.org/whorton.html
Reviewer: Joyce Handzo

Summer never sounded so lovely!

Millennium, the wildly popular rock band, chose the town of Port Aransas in Texas to film their newest video, "Cry for the Sea". They also chose Trina, Hayley, Amanda and Sharon to appear in the video as extras. The girls were thrilled for this opportunity, but they were even more excited at the thought of being able to spend a week with the band members, who were also their boyfriends. This promised to be a week full of love, laughter and special times.

Summer Song is the third book in the series, with each book focusing on a different girl. This book looks at life from Trina's viewpoint. She is currently dating Seth Jordan, the band's drummer. Readers will follow her to Texas and share her thoughts and feelings as she films the video, gets to know Seth better, and even has a dramatic encounter with her rival, Krystal.

This book is a refreshing and positive look at the lives of teenagers. The four girls are portrayed as being respectful, honest and caring. They play by the rules and obey the boundaries set for them. As a result, they are able to enjoy life and trust in the future. The members of the rock band break out of all the stereotypes! These young men are intelligent and well mannered. Their video even reflects their concern for the environment as it deals with the issue of water pollution.

The relationship between Trina and Seth was shown in a positive and realistic way. Although they loved each other, they respected each other's feelings and stayed within the bounds of their moral upbringing. However, this book does not preach a set of values. Instead, it gently shows the positive rewards life holds when rules are obeyed and common sense prevails. One character comments that life consists of making mistakes and learning lessons from those mistakes. That's very true. The teenage years are filled with opportunities for growth and self-expression, yet this book underscores the benefits of being true to yourself.

Summer Song is a sweet medley of true friends and true love in perfect harmony with each other.

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Added October 10, 2003

Hayley's Song

Author: Wanda Horton
Publisher: Amber Quill Press
Available At: www.amberquill.com
Publishing Date: Available Now
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Trade Paperback, Ebook download in HTML/PDF/LIT
Price: $12.50 paperback, $5.50 ebook
ISBN: 1-59279-937-X paperback, 1-59279-049-6 ebook
Author Email/Website:www.ntpwa.org/whorton.html
Reviewer: Melissa Parcel

Sixteen-year-old Hayley Rogers is on top of the world. She has a great group of friends who all hang out together. They spend nights at each other's houses, ski at resorts around their hometown of Denver, and they all adore the rock group Millennium. She occasionally dates guys from her school; in fact she even has her eye on Kevin, the cute new guy in her church youth group. But Hayley's heart really belongs to Shadow, Millennium's eighteen-year-old lead singer. She dreams of him each night, hoping and wishing that they will meet someday. Hayley and her friends have tickets to Millennium's concert in June, and they are counting the days until seeing the band in person.

Things start to slowly unravel for Hayley. Her arch rival, Krystal Cannedy, makes Hayley's life miserable at every turn. Krystal's father has connections and gets her front row seats and backstage passes for the concert. She even attempts to steal Kevin's attention away from Hayley by badmouthing her and pouring on sneaky charm. And when Shadow and the rest of Millennium are skiing at the same resort as the girls, Krystal and all of Hayley's friends get to meet him but Hayley misses out. The worst news of all though is that her dad has been transferred to Texas and the family must move.

Heartbroken, Hayley immerses herself in Millennium's music, knowing that it can help her through the ache of leaving her friends and the only home she has ever known. When she arrives in Texas, there are no teenagers around. Her parents join a tiny church where the members of the youth group are all away on a mission trip or working. How will Hayley survive living so far from her friends? Will she ever make new ones?

Hayley's Song is a great choice for younger teens. It has wonderful messages about the power of friendship and family. The families in Hayley's Song are not perfect, but they find ways to work through their difficulties. Teens who have had to undergo a move will greatly identify with Hayley's hurt and depression at having to start all over again. The romance plot is fun and unexpected as well. The story moves at a quick pace that young people are sure to enjoy. I did find the girls' obsession with the band a bit over the top. I thought that their parents should have stepped in and told the girls to focus more on the real world and relationships rather than imaginary ones.

Pre-teens and young teenagers will love the multi-layered Hayley's Song. The main characters are well developed and the book is definitely set up for sequels featuring Hayley's friends. A New Harmony, featuring Hayley's friend Amanda as the main character, is available now. Summer Song is due in 2003.Get caught up in this new series of books featuring the adventures of a fun group of teenagers.

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