Customer Reviews

Lily Dale: Believing

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The second installment of Wendy Corsi Staub's Lily Dale series begins where AWAKENING left off-with Calla beginning to understand, and utilize, her psychic abilities. After leading authorities to the body of a missing girl, Kaitlyn, in book one, Calla finds herself the target of Kaitlyn's killer, who has perpetrated a string of abductions. Add to this suspenseful tale a bit more of the backstory concerning Calla's mother's mysterious death and a dose romantic intrigue, and Staub delivers a top-notch YA novel with the perfect set-up for book three. Highly reccommended!

LILY DALE: BELIEVING

WENDY CORSI STAUB

Paranormal YA

Walker

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Ms. Staub does an excellent job melding paranormal and suspense together in her LILY DALE series featuring Calla Delaney.

Picking up mere moments after the first book left off, LILY DALE: BELIEVING has Calla finding herself the target of a serial killer targeting teenage girls, a case that first came to light in book one. However, reading "Awakening" is not required to enjoy LILY DALE: BELIEVING for it stands quite well on its own. Calla is still trying to deal with the unexpected loss of her mother, the realization of her own medium abilities and adjusting to life in Lily Dale with her unique grandmother Odel and the physical distance between her and her father. Add in the normal teenager issues and things can get pretty complicated. What I like most about Calla is her willingness to learn about her newfound abilities, something that's much changed from her behavior in book one. The fact that we see things from both the killer's point of view several times during the story adds a creepiness to the book that keeps the reader rapidly turning the pages, knowing that at some point there will be a meeting between he and Calla.

Threads left unsolved from the first book continue on in book two, and with BELIEVING's own startling ending it will no doubt leave readers waiting anxiously for book three releasing November 2008.

[...]

Lisa

Enchanting Reviews

October 2008

Lily Dale: Believing (Lily Dale)

This was a good story. It also is about a place that really exists in New York where the residents are clairvoyants, mediums and the like. You can actually visit. I chose this book because I enjoy this author so much.

She writes some great suspense stories. If you like Mary Higgins Clark, you will like Wendi Corsi Staub.

Lily Dale is an exceptional place in Western New York and this setting is what caught my attention to this series. Coming of age, becoming aware of her powers, this teenage girl has had her world turned upside down. Quick read, enjoyable. Really captures Lily Dale and the sometimes quirky residents of that magical place.

I read the whole series and it was great. I could not find this book in the store so I went to my standby online store Amazon and there it was! If you are into the supernatural this 4 book series is a must! ENJOY!

This was in great condition and I loved the story. This series is the best I have read in years. I hope she continues with it.

I enjoyed reading this book as I have with the rest of the Lily Dale series. I can't wait for the next book to come out in October.

Wendy Corsi Staub's LILY DALE: BELIEVING tells of Calla, whose gift of sight attracts the attention of a killer of teen girls who has designs on her talents. Calla is just beginning to trust her perceptions: will she be able to listen to the warning signs that the killer may have her in his sights? This is the second book in Staub's paranormal suspense series set in the town of Lily Dale, and makes for an involving detective mystery.

I like Wendi Corsi Straub books. They are well written and fun to read at any age.

A mere few weeks have passed since she moved to Lily Dale, New York, to live with her grandmother, but Calla Delaney's past seems to be another world and lifetime ago.

Like most residents of Lily Dale --- the home of Spiritualism --- Calla's grandmother Odelia is a registered medium. Until Calla arrived in Lily Dale after her mother's tragic death, she was unaware of her grandmother's unusual occupation or that she herself had also inherited the gift of communicating with the Spirit.

Recently, when the spirit of a girl named Kaitlyn Riggs visits her, Calla is able to help locate the missing deceased youngster. While pleased that she could give some closure to the victim's family, Calla is more concerned with finding out who her mother really was growing up in Lily Dale, and whether or not an old boyfriend is the same man who visited her mother a few months before her death.

Being a new student at Lily Dale High isn't easy when everyone knows everyone else, and math --- a subject that Calla usually excels at --- is suddenly proving to be difficult. To make matters worse, her mother's former math teacher suggests Calla gets tutoring from none other than Willow York, who may or may not still be Blue Slayton's (ex) girlfriend. Then there's Jacy Bly, to whom Calla feels a strong connection but will likely remain just an acquaintance since her best friend Evangeline has a big crush on him.

Meanwhile, Calla's friendship with Lisa is changing, and old feelings surface unexpectedly when Kevin contacts Calla again, leading to further confusion. Calla is also concerned about living in California with her father, who she misses dearly but doesn't want to worry, and she's reluctant to leave Lily Dale and her grandmother behind.

If figuring out family and social issues wasn't difficult enough, Calla is once again visited by Kaitlyn, who warns Calla that her murderer is still out there, actively seeking out other victims --- one of whom could be Calla herself. Will Calla be able to forge a new future for herself, or will she be haunted by her past forever?

Although not much time has passed within Calla's life, there is more suspense in LILY DALE: BELIEVING than ever before. While the book features the unfortunate but very real topic of teen abduction, it also presents a story of the strength of family connections, even from the other side. LILY DALE: CONNECTING is scheduled to be released in November 2008, so fortunately fans won't have to wait long for their next visit to Lily Dale.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle