Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

        For all the teen contemporary realistic fiction fans out there... this is a fascinating book! 

Lauren is given an assignment at the beginning of the school year to write a letter to someone who has passed away. Of course the events that recently occurred in her life, the sudden death of her older sister, make this task all the more poignant. Lauren writes the assignment but doesn’t turn it in. Instead she continues on a yearlong journey of writing as a way of dealing with the traumatic events in her life.  She writes to a number of famous people who died before their time such as Kurt Cobain, Heath Ledger, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin and Amelia Earhart. 

This is a wonderfully written, yet horribly tragic story about loss… Author, Ava Dellaira has either experienced the loss of a sibling or done excellent research. Young survivors often feel profound loss when an older sibling is suddenly not there to provide a path; feeling abandoned by the grieving parents, they often flounder to find a sense of purpose in life. In addition, “Love Letters to the Dead” includes the divorce of Lauren and May’s parents. This seems to be the catalyst for May’s destructive behavior. The girls are left feeling frustrated, guilty and abandoned; could they have kept the parents together? Were they the reason their parent’s broke up? Lauren idolizes her sister but May, with no one to go to, turns to alcohol and men to escape the desperately need to feel loved. Now Lauren is repeating the actions of May as her life begins to spiral out of control. Lauren holds the secret to what really happened to May the night she died which is slowly revealed at the end of the story.

The book was wonderfully written and will be an excellent addition to a young adult library collection. The journal format will appeal to teens as will the interesting biographical information about the famous musicians and actors within the letters Lauren writes. My only negative is that the plot felt like a checklist of every traumatizing event that can occur in a teen’s life. There was so much added, in fact, that I felt it took away from the realism of the story. That being said, the sequence of events may be like watching a car accident; we don’t want to look but are shocked into doing it. If you’ve loved, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, you’ll love "Love Letters to the Dead"!

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

Summary:
One morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates her and wants to kick her ass. Piddy doesn’t even know who Yaqui is, never mind what she’s done to piss her off. Word is that Yaqui thinks Piddy is stuck-up, shakes her stuff when she walks, and isn’t Latin enough with her white skin, good grades, and no accent. And Yaqui isn’t kidding around, so Piddy better watch her back. At first Piddy is more concerned with trying to find out more about the father she’s never met and how to balance honors courses with her weekend job at the neighborhood hair salon. But as the harassment escalates, avoiding Yaqui and her gang starts to take over Piddy’s life. Is there any way for Piddy to survive without closing herself off or running away? In an all-too-realistic novel, Meg Medina portrays a sympathetic heroine who is forced to decide who she really is.

Review:
Moving to a new apartment and enrolling in a new school is the last thing Piedad "Piddy" Sanchez wants to do. She's leaving her neighbors, her friends and the school where she was a strong, well-liked student to start a new life in Queens, New York. Little did she realize that from the first day of school her expectations would change from trying to fit in to trying to survive. She receives a note from someone she hasn't even met, Yaqui Delgado, who wants to kick her ass. From that moment we see Piddy's personality start to change to protect herself from her tormentors as she is repeatedly threatened then videotaped getting savagely attacked.

Author, Meg Medina, writes a poignant story of the emotional trauma and isolation that occurs in extreme bullying situations. With her inner strength and the support of her family and friends she finds the courage to face her bully on her own terms. I can definitely see young adults relating to Piddy's story and would highly recommend this book to upper middle school to high school students.

The 100 (The Hundred) by Kass Morgan

Target audience - Grades 9 - 12

Summary:

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents -- considered expendable by society -- are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves -- but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.

Review:

I liked the storyline for this novel and can see readers of dystopic societies and science fiction enjoying the multiple plot twists. The chapters are short and the pages are easy to read; the characters deal with realistic situations in an unrealistic back drop, living on a space station, which make them easily relatable. I also appreciated the authors reflections on how a person who never lived on Earth might interpret some of its natural wonders like sunsets or rain storms. The story flips between the different characters who have unconventional names which can be confusing and at times reads like a television series. Perhaps that’s why its already been picked up by the CW station as part of their Spring lineup (March 2014).  Overall, “The Hundred” was a book worth recommending to high school students.

Review: Red

Red 
by Alison Cherry

Book Description:
Felicity St. John has it all: loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she’s right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.

Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power—and everybody knows it. That’s why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:
I know your secret.

Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she’d be a social outcast faster than she could say strawberry blond. Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it—money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school.

Felicity isn’t about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred? 

Review: 

Cherry’s first novel may overtly seem to have a somewhat silly premise, but underneath the “ginger” focus, there is a really strong commentary on superficiality and social standing. I found myself questioning the distribution of power based on appearance and the lengths that desperate people will go to in order to protect their deepest secrets. Inner strength and self-acceptance are also strong themes that run throughout the book. While you might giggle your way through this fast-paced tale, you'll also find you've thought while reading it.

Review: Charmed Vengeance

Charmed Vengeance
by Suzanne Lazear
The Aether Chronicles, book two

Book Description: 

When her true love, Steven, is forced to break their magical bond, Noli Braddock decides to join her brother on the crew of the Vixen’s Revenge.

With its gleaming brass, dark wood, and spotless clockwork gears, the Vixen’s Revenge is a beautiful airship. But Noli discovers a dangerous secret beneath its polished exterior—the crew has been hired to steal dozens of priceless Otherworld artifacts. Desperate to keep her past Otherworld experiences hidden from the airship crew, Noli fears that if she doesn’t risk telling her own secrets, the stolen artifacts will be used to destroy both of the worlds she loves.

Review:
I loved diving back into this charming blend of steampunk and faerie lore. Lazear does a brilliant job blending traditional faerie legends and affectations into an alternate history of the US. This particular book spans the country, too, which made for a lot of interesting scene changes. With the faerie realm underlayed, though, the country almost felt small, and the amazing airships made traveling a breeze.

In some ways this book truly was a bridge between the first and what will be coming in the third. There's a lot of set up for the next portion of Noli's story and characters were introduced or brought back in ways that lead directly to how they'll play a part in the next tale, yet it still felt as though it had its own legs to stand on. *NOT* to say that I wasn't immediately left wanting the next book, but I'm also happy with where things were left...for now.

A lot of that contentment with this book derives from seeing how Noli progresses as a character. Having to deal with her new...situation...bridging the gap between the mortal and faerie realms. Seeing how the people in her world help those two realms collide...there were a lot of feelings in this book...

Readers who love romance, faeries, adventure, steampunk, and alternate histories should check out book one in the series, Innocent Darkness!

Review: Every Day

Every Day
by David Levithan

Book Description:
Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Review: 

This was a real page-turner for me! I opened this book and three hours later flipped the final page. I was captivated from start to finish.

Levithan creates a fantastic character in A. You have no idea (as s/he doesn't) whether A is a boy or a girl, what s/he looks like, you only have a sense of his/her personality. What an intriguing concept! What a great way to get down to the real root of a character.

I loved, too, that Levithan did not let A take the easy route in any of his/her choices. The book ends perfectly in a very realistic and believable way. Though we may want true love to triumph at all time, logistics become a huge factor in real life. I was rooting for Rhiannon and A all along, but I really loved how Levithan wrapped things up...

Definitely worth picking up if you haven't already.

Gold Star Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars

For Darkness Shows the Stars
by Diana Peterfreund

Book Description:
It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Review:
Wow. I loved this book. It had all the romantic and sweeping, yet understated elements that you find in classic Austen, but they were wrapped in the most intriguingly imagined post-apocalyptic world. Persuasion is one of Austen's books that I really love (my favorite is Emma, in case you were interested) and I was a little afraid that Peterfreund might have taken on a little too big a task in modernizing it.... I should have had faith! She's one of my favorite authors for a reason. Peterfreund nailed it!!

I found myself wrapped in a world where I could see the connections to Austen's original work, but had no trouble at all losing myself in the new story, forgetting that it was anything but what it was. This world is similar to our own, but Elliot's family and friends are so far removed from our society that it feels very foreign. I liked the religious aspect that helped develop their philosophies and how it felt organic without becoming an overwhelming aspect of the book.

The romance. Ah, the romance. I loved it. It felt very real. Both characters had reasons to feel hurt and both had reasons they were unable to let go. Elliot and Kai were two very strong personalities that were stuck in a tough situation that could easily have torn them apart forever. I loved that Peterfreund made Elliot strong enough to not only be herself, and only herself, to succeed in the things she tried to do, but also strong enough to fight for the man that she loved with all her heart.

Though Elliot may be younger than the original character Anne Elliot that she's based on, in the post-apocalyptic world that Peterfreund created her emotions and convictions ring true in the same way, regardless of time and place. Peterfreund’s retelling effortlessly blends a new world and a new, struggling society with the heart and soul of Austen’s tale. The science fiction themes are easy to understand and seem to integrate themselves seamlessly into the story so that even readers shy about delving into the genre will have no trouble navigating this foreign world.

I recommend this book to all readers, regardless of whether or not you've read the original Austen tale that inspired it. I give this book a GOLD STAR and can't wait to see what Peterfreund does with The Scarlet Pimpernel in the upcoming Across a Star-Swept Sea.

Review: Going Vintage

Going Vintage
by Lindsey Leavitt


Book Description:
When Mallory discovers that her boyfriend, Jeremy, is cheating on her with an online girlfriend, she swears off boys. She also swears off modern technology. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in 1962, Mallory decides to "go vintage" and return to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn't cheat on you online). She sets out to complete grandma's list: run for pep club secretary, host a dinner party, sew a homecoming dress, find a steady, do something dangerous. But the list is trickier than it looks. And obviously finding a steady is out . . . no matter how good Oliver (Jeremy's cousin) smells. But with the help of her sister, she'll get it done. Somehow.

Review:

I LOVED this book. It was a breeze to read, sweet, funny, and just... just wonderful. It managed to convey both a vintage feel and a very contemporary atmosphere...kind of like the perfect old tattered reading chair in a cozy new apartment. 

It had a fantastic romantic element, but what I truly loved the most was that Leavitt decides to have Mallory concentrate on really centering herself rather than just jumping into a new relationship.  Girl power. :)  There were great family relationship issues here and even as people dealt with problems you could obviously feel the love and respect between them. 

A definite winner. 

Review: The Gift

The Gift
by Andrea J. Buchanan

Book Description:
High school sophomore Daisy Jones is just trying to get by unnoticed. It doesn’t help that she’s the new girl at school, lives in a trailer park, and doesn’t even own a cell phone. But there’s a good reason for all that: Daisy has a secret, unpredictable power—one only her best friend, Danielle, knows about.

Despite her “gift” (or is it a curse?), Daisy’s doing a good job of fitting in, and a gorgeous senior named Kevin even seems interested in her! But when Daisy tries to help Vivi, a mysterious classmate in a crisis, she soon discovers that her new friend has a secret of her own. Now Daisy and her friends must deal with chilling dreams and messages from the beyond. Can Daisy channel the power she’s always tried to hide, before it’s too late?


Review:
This book, originally self-published, could probably have benefited from a thorough editing job. While the premise had moments of promise, there were too many small extra plotlines that were actually distracting from the main story. I also think that it seemed to take a little too long for the two major arcs of the story to come together. That *could* be partially attributed to the fact that I listened to this as an audio book, so the whole story took some time, but I really think the ghost/energy connection was too hard to piece together the way that the author presented it. 

Even though I didn't really enjoy the story, I was happy to find that the author included the songs that Kevin "performed" and also Danielle's diary entries (which I thought would have made a nice addition perhaps interspersed within the story...). It made for a more interesting end.

Review: Absent

Absent

by Katie Williams

 

Publication date: May 21, 2013

 

Book Description:

When seventeen-year-old Paige dies in a freak fall from the roof during Physics class, her spirit is bound to the grounds of her high school. At least she has company: her fellow ghosts Evan and Brooke, who also died there. But when Paige hears the rumor that her death wasn't an accident—that she supposedly jumped on purpose—she can't bear it. Then Paige discovers something amazing. She can possess living people when they think of her, and she can make them do almost anything. Maybe, just maybe, she can get to the most popular girl in school and stop the rumors once and for all.

 

Review:

This book is short, but very good.  It doesn't flinch away from the harsh truth of death and how other people perceive you...or how you perceive them.  This story feels really genuine.  The teen ghosts' despondency, Paige's quest for justice, vengeance, and the way that she yearns for acknowledgment from beyond the grave will definitely pull in most readers. As each student, both the living and the dead, finally find what they need to move on, you will not be able to put the book down until the very end. I know I couldn't!

Due to some drug related content and other mature themes, I would really recommend this book for high school or college age readers.

Gold Star Review: The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan

by Katherine Applegate

 

Book Description:

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

 

Review:

This is a stellar book. Absolutely stellar. The concept is phenomenal. The characters, though animals, are still anthropomorphized (humanized) enough to make them evoke sympathy from readers. The storyline is perfect. The writing style fits the character and story beautifically.

Yes, I am gushing. This book deserves to be gushed over. If you have not read it yet, PICK THIS ONE UP. I guarantee that every reader will find something to love. Animals, art, love, grief, it's all here. The free form verse makes this book a breeze to read (I think it took me an hour or so) and my heart was bursting when I was done.

I cannot recommend this one enough. If it does not win at least one award this year, I think I will be shocked and somewhat appalled. Definite GOLD STAR.

 



Review: Splintered

Splintered

by A.G. Howard

 

Publication date: January 1, 2013

 

Book Description:

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

 

Review:

I LOVED this book. I was simultaneously torn between wanting to desperately tear through it to find out all the crazy/wonderful things that would happen and wanting to put it down periodically so that I could savor that first reading for just a little bit longer.

Howard wrote some ravishingly dark imagery in her version of Wonderland. Every time you think you recognize something from the original, there is a creepy and distinctive twist. Even Alyssa turns out to have facets that you would not expect. The characters have motivations that make for a more intriguing and power hungry tale than Carroll's version and ultimately, you as the reader have no idea who may survive this twisted place.

I'm having trouble even formulating an effective way to describe exactly how much I loved this book. Suffice it to say that even though I received a review copy, I will most definitely be buying my own hardcover copy in January so that I can read it again and ooh and ahh over the gorgeous aesthetic details (the cover, OMG!) inside and out while I do...

For now, let me just say I'm giving it a GOLD STAR and that I demand you all READ IT!!


Review: It's Kind of a Funny Story

It's Kind of a Funny Story

by Ned Vizzini

 

Book Description:

Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan’s Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life—which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job—Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That’s when things start to get crazy.

At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he’s just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and Craig stops eating and sleeping—until, one night, he nearly kills himself.

Craig’s suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, isolated from the crushing pressures of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.

 

Review:

I really need to listen to my teen readers at the library more often. The trouble is I usually have such a huge stack of books that I'm dying to read any way that when a teen suggests a book I tell them, "oh yeah, I'd like to read that...it's going on my list" and then it takes ages for me to get to it...

 

 

I had three different teens recommend this book to me. I'm so glad I finally picked this one up. It was indeed a great story! Others have said this, but it bears repeating...for a book about a suicidal teenager, this was actually a surprisingly funny book. Vizzini manages to make this book feel achingly "real" precisely because it covers such a huge range of emotions. There are NO one dimensional characters and the plot is utterly realistic. What a well done book.

 

 

I highly recommend this one (and I'm going to check out the movie...I want to compare it to the book...)

 



Review: Live Through This

Live Through This
by Mindi Scott

Book Description:

If Coley Sterling’s best friend would stop hating her, if her dance-team captains would lighten up, if her friends would stop asking her about Reece, the geeky sax player she’s crushing on—then her life would be perfect. Right? After all, Coley’s stepdad is a successful attorney who gives Coley and her siblings everything, and her mother will stop at nothing to keep them all happy and safe—including having escaped ten years ago from the abuse of Coley’s real father. But Coley is keeping a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully crafted facade. Now, Coley and Reece are getting closer, and a decade’s worth of Coley’s lies are on the verge of unraveling—along with the life she thought she knew.

 

Review:

This. This is a doozy of a book. It is gripping, it is un-put-downable. Once I had gotten about 20 pages in, there was no stopping. I read straight through until the last page, tears streaming down my face in several spots, shivers running down my spine. I could not tear myself away.

This is not a book for everyone. The author doesn't really worry about being very open about what's happening between Coley and her boyfriend, or Coley and the person who has crossed the line with her... For some people this book may be a little too much. Too hard to read.

I would really only recommend this book to very mature readers in grades 11 and up.



Review: Bad Hair Day

Bad Hair Day

by Carrie Harris

Kate Grable series, book two

 

Book Description:

Kate Grable is geeked out to shadow the county medical examiner as part of her school's premed program. But after he's arrested for murder, she's left with the bodies. And when Kate's brother, Jonah, stumbles upon a dead gamer girl, Kate realizes that the zombie epidemic she cured last fall was only the beginning of the weirdness taking over her town. Someone—or something—is murdering kids. Something really hairy. And strong. Possibly with claws.

Could it be werewolves, like Jonah and his dorktastic friends think? Kate's supposed to be a butt-kicking, zombie-killing genius . . . but if she can't figure out what's behind the freakish attacks, the victims—or what's left of them—are going to keep piling up.

 

Review:

Oh, Carrie Harris... how do I love your books? Let me count the ways:
1. Sassy heroine
2. SMART heroine
3. Good friends
4. A great boyfriend
5. Funny, loyal brother
6. Viral Zombies
7. Hilarious LARP groupies
8. "Werewolves" (or are they...)
9. Nanobots
10. Geektastic internships with Doctors
11. A "Rock"-a-Thon

This book once again made me laugh out loud, even as I was marveling at the brilliant blend of the paranormal and hardcore science. I love that for every weird phenomenon that happens, there is a perfectly viable explanation and, of course...Kate is always right there to fix things!

The perfect vacation read (I tore through this one while I was in Martha's Vineyard, in fact), I am going to bestow a beautiful Gold Star to this book!

 

 

Bad Hair Day is coming out this November! 

New School Year... New...Secrets...Scandal...Friends?

Since it's back to school season, we created a new display in the Teen Space at our Library full of YA books that have a new school year theme, but with some kind of twist. Scandals, murders, secrets, and friends... or sometimes frenemies! Thus, "New School Year... New...Secrets, New...Scandals, New...Friends?" was born...


Some of the books on display are:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

A fabulous romance!
Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris-until she meets Etienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne

Totally absorbing!
When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

Before there was ever Sex and the City...
The Carrie Diaries opens up in Carrie's senior year of high school. She and her best friends -- Walt, Lali, Maggie, and the Mouse -- are inseparable, and then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school-until a friend's betrayal makes her question everything. 

Private by Kate Brian

A true High School "soap opera!"
Fifteen-year-old Reed Brennan wins a scholarship to Easton Academy—the golden ticket away from her pill-popping mother and run-of-the-mill suburban life. But when she arrives on the beautiful, tradition-steeped campus of Easton, everyone is just a bit more sophisticated, a bit more gorgeous, and a lot wealthier than she ever thought possible. She quickly discovers that inside their secret parties and mountains of attitude, hanging in their designer clothing-packed closets the Billings Girls have skeletons. And they’ll do anything to keep their secrets private.

Other titles include:
Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
Deadline by Chris Crutcher
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Monster High by Lisi Harrison
My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson
Something to Hold by Katherine Schlick Noe
Dead is a Battlefield by Marlene Perez
Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin

If you have to go back to school, the least you can do is go back to school with a twist, right? Stop by soon and pick up some scandalously delicious reads...

Review: The Fear

The Fear

by Charlie Higson

The Enemy, book three

 

Book Description:

The sickness struck everyone sixteen and over. Mothers and fathers, older brothers, sisters, and best friends. No one escaped its touch. And now children across London are being hunted by ferocious grown-ups who are hungry, bloodthirsty, and not giving up.

DogNut and the rest of his crew, in search of the friends they lost during the fire, set off on a deadly mission from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace and beyond, as the sickos lie in wait. But who are their friends and who is the enemy in this changed world?

Review:

Sigh. I hated this book. I hate saying that, but it was all I could do to get through the almost five hundred pages. Normally, I LOVE zombie books, but this series just seems gross. It was well written, the storyline was good, but Higson does not at all shy away from a. killing characters off all over the place and b. vividly describing the affects of the disease on adults. Also, I couldn't stand the chapters that were from the perspective of the now cannibalistic adults.

So. If you like horror and dark, vivid descriptions of violence and death, I would suggest you check out this series. If you like zombie books, though, for the interactions between the surviving humans...you may want to skip this one.  Not everyone is guaranteed to make it and a lot of the story is focused on the the horrible zombie attacks...

If you *do* end up liking this book, let me know! Not every book is for me, but it just MIGHT the right book for you! 

Review: What Happened to Goodbye

What Happened to Goodbye

by Sarah Dessen

Book Description:

Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out. 

Review:
Sarah Dessen's books alway make me cry at least a little.  They are great summer reads and they are great for any time that you want something that will make you both smile and tear up. They deal with family and relationship issues in such a great way, too.

For example, in What Happened to Goodbye, McLean is dealing with her "issues" following her parents divorce. Rather than move in with her mom and her mom's new husband and twin toddlers, McLean chooses to live with her father...and that means moving from place to place for his job.  McLean loves the fact that they move, though, because it gives her the chance to reinvent herself in each place. 

When she finds a guy who really seems to get her, though, she finds that she suddenly wants to be "herself" again.  Can McLean rediscover who she was or wants to be today?

This book dealt with the fallout of McLean's parents divorce really, really well. What I loved most was that they were a family that finally pulled together in the end...around McLean... when she needed it the most.  I loved the restaurant setting and I loved the secondary characters that worked at Luna Blu. 

Another great book from Sarah Dessen.

Teen Review: Why We Broke Up

Why We Broke Up
by Daniel Handler

Book Description:

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

Review:
Tired of Makeups and break ups?

Read Why We Broke Up for a refreshing twist on relationships. Read as Min discovers herself and the truth behind "True Love" or what she thought it was...

Reviewer: Alma

Review: Why We Broke Up

Why We Broke Up

by Daniel Handler

Book Description:

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

Review:

I liked the feel of the pages, the weight of the book, and the pictures of items that accompanied each chapter. I loved the concept of one gigantic letter, full of relationship vignettes that add up to the demise of a couple. ...And, I, unlike a lot of other people, totally got Min. I felt like it was listening to myself when I was still in high school.

I knew what I loved, I liked my friends, and yet... when the guy came along that was into everything else, I was not assertive enough to make it clear that I was into different things or that I really loved my friends and everything they were into...

Min may have been way too complacent at times in her relationship with Ed, but I felt that was totally believable! Regrettable, but believable. I also understood, well...most of the time, how Ed liked Min, even though he totally had no clue as to who she really was...

Though this book was sad, it was also hopeful. In the sense that Min was growing and learning from her relationship's demise. I think she'll become a stronger person from the experience.



*This was my selection for the February Meeting of our book club, Flippin' Pages. We did makeup/breakup books this month! Next meeting is March 13th and we'll be talking about our favorite FANTASY books.*