School should be a nice place, somewhere that laughter and friends fit seamlessly in between class and studying. Right? But when Mr. Langley, the new principal takes over, everything changes. He’s more concerned with test results than students, so he enacts a new set of rules: no sitting in the hall, no hanging out at school, no PDA, and a stricter dress code. All this is part of his grand scheme to beat the laziness out of students with good old fashioned work. The general reaction to this: surprisingly nothing. Everybody’s shocked, sure, but nobody has the guts to break these new rules until one boy stands up. His new project delves into the emotions of his school, raw and real, and will force everyone to realize that school is not just a place to work, but a place to live.A Place to Live is part of the new Single Voice series, a set of stories each told from, you guessed it, a single voice. The narration in A Place to Live seems somehow different from most stories told from the first person point of view. Much of the content is intensely personal, yet I never really felt very connected to the protagonist. Personally, I think this is because the reader never finds out the protagonist’s name. While having a nameless protagonist does grant a certain degree of universality because of the anonymity, I felt this actually worked against A Place to Live by making it too impersonal, despite its content. On another note, the ideas presented in this story are certainly interesting, as if the way the stifling new school rules are met with a unique video project. Overall, A Place to Live is interesting at best, though, and unfortunately too short to leave a lasting impression on the reader.
A Place to Live will be enjoyed by those who like the other stories in the Single Voice series.
Rating: 3.25
Review copy from publisher Annick Press
Find out more about the Single Voice series at: http://www.annickpress.com/singlevoice
Opal Cowan has always felt a little out of place training at the Keep. Because her magic is so linked to her glassmaking, she feels like a one trick wonder—useless and inadequate when compared to the magicians around her. But just because Opal’s magic is unique and specialized doesn’t mean it’s not useful in some way. The Stormdancer clan relies on glass orbs to harness and hold energy from storms, and when the orbs start shattering, killing Stormdancers, Opal is called upon to investigate the problem with the glass. However, as new intrigues arise and Opal’s magical skills are put to the test, Opal discovers that she may have access to a new kind of magic, a magic so potent and powerful its effects could only be disastrous. 
In Legacy of Lies, Megan is invited to stay with her uptight and judgmental grandmother. It’s bad enough that Megan doesn’t want to be there in the first place, but it’s also clear that she isn’t entirely welcome there either. When strange nightmares that seem more like memories start to coincide with rumors of a family secret, Megan wants to dig deeper and find out the truth. Unfortunately, the truth may have deadly consequences. In Don’t Tell, Lauren finally revisits her godmother in the town where her mother drowned seven years earlier. The place is plagued by memories, including the most unpleasant one, as well as something more. But as soon as Lauren settles in, she is the object of strange events—the same ones that occurred before her mother’s death. It turns out, that drowning seven years ago may not have been an accident—and Lauren may be next. 
Beth Michaels might be going crazy. One day she’s perfectly normal, and the next, she starts seeing these strange pink dots everywhere. Unfortunately, it doesn’t even stop there. Ropes, chains, and disgusting black gunk show up on virtually every person she sees, as well as glimpses into a people’s minds, memories, secrets, and fears if she looks at someone for too long. But even though other people think Beth is crazy too, the thing is, she might not be. Because along with this strange new vision, Beth also starts receiving gold envelopes with mysterious message, envelopes Beth soon finds out she’s been receiving her whole life but hasn’t been aware of until now. The first message Beth gets says “You are more than you think you are.” And as Beth soon finds out, that’s probably true. 
