Shattered Reflections

     When his best friend Libby sees an online mention of upcoming auditions for a Broadway production of the hit movie, ET, Nate Foster, an insecure 13-year old boy who has a knack for acting, escapes into the rush of New York City. But, when Libby's “foolproof” plan fails, Nate finds himself lost in a world where the unordinary is ordinary, and dreams can be be broken in a heartbeat.

     Time Federle, discusses real world topics in, Better Nate Than Ever, such as bullying and the gay lifestyle. For instance, Nate is always bullied because most of the kids he comes in contact with think he’s gay. At one point in the story, Nate is beaten up at school so badly that his lips require four stitches. The school officials simply send him off to the hospital for stitches, but no mention is made of any punishment or consequences for the person responsible for the beating. But, in New York, where some of the men are actually gay, it seems to even be normal for certain men to be gay.

     I would recommend this book to others because Federle does a great job of keeping the action moving, adding plot twists and turns and keeping the reader rooting for Nate, as wells as dropping jokes and hilarious moments every now and then.

Tallkit has always felt caged on the moor he calls home. Growing up, he was never able to fulfill his father's expectations, becoming a moor runner rather than a tunneler as both his parents were. After the shadow clan attack, the death of Brackenwing in battle, his father in a cave-in, and the banning of tunneling, the chain of events took a toll on Talltail, laying burden after burden on his shoulders. In an attempt to leave it all behind and take revenge by killing Sparrow, the rogue cat that was able to mysteriously escape the same cave-in of which Talltail's father died, Talltail decides to leave the camp. Along the way, he befriends a kittypet named Jake, who aids him on his journey to find Sparrow. In the end, Talltail learns that his father sacrificed himself in order to save Sparrow, and he returns back to the clan, back to the place he calls home.

Mahatma Gandhi said “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” Tallstar is but another victim of revenge's grasp. He has been tormented by the thought of never meeting his father's expectations as he was alive, so killing the one who killed him was a desperate effort to supposedly please his father. This is not so different from the Taliban's situation. They were declined the basic right of education, so they bomb schools and kill teachers to keep others away from what they never were able to receive.

Kate Cary is an amazing author who reveals life through the eyes of animals. I recommend this book to new readers who love a thrill of adventure, excitement, and the journey to find where you belong.