Friday, October 7, 2011

The Soulkeepers and Dr. Silva's Pumpkin Cocoa



Jacob Lau's life truly began the day he died.  But as he was brought back from life he learned that his mother was missing and that he would have to move from his home in Oahu to the small town of Paris, IL with his estranged uncle, whom he'd never met or knew about.  As if moving across the country wasn't enough he also has to face racisim by his new classmates and strange dreams of his neighbor, Dr. Silva, visiting him in the night.  Things only get weirder when Jacob finds out he is a Soulkeeper, a protector of good.  But how does he know who really is good and who really is evil?  And will he be able to hone his new ability in time to save the people that he loves?

Release Date:  June 24, 2011
Page count:  308
Genre:  Young Adult

Similar to:  Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
Recommended to:  Boys and Girls 10+
Stars:  5/5

*The Good:

*FINALLY, I have been waiting for a story that doesn't have your typical all-american white bread teenagers.  A half-chinese boy and an Indian girl as the leads?  Now that is something that you don't see in YA literature, or any literature for that matter and it was very refreshing.

*You could tell that Ching did a lot of research for this novel because the details were so vivid and the story was so well put together.  Ching told me that Soulkeepers was based in actual angel lore and you can tell that she did her homework and got down such wonderful details that made me feel like I learned something, yet kept me enthralled with the story.

*The Not-as-good:

*The only thing I could say that I didn't like was the fact that I wanted just a little bit more romance.  BUT GP says that there is much more romance in the sequel, so I'm looking forward to reading that!

All in all, this is a very recommended read for girls and boys, so you should go read it NOW.


Dr. Silva's Pumpkin Cocoa

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4-5 cups whole milk
11 ounces white chocolate chips
4 teaspoons cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, combine 2 cups of milk, white chocolate, and cocoa powder. Cook over medium heat, whisking periodically, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is well combined. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, and ginger. Add the remaining milk, 1 cup at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
If desired, serve topped with whipped cream and a sprinkling of nutmeg. Just be sure not to fill the mugs too full before adding the whipped cream, or you might have some overflow.

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