TO READ OR NOT TO READ...

How to Be Bad ****

2008-09-20T11:53:00.004-04:00

Lockhart, E., Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle. How to be Bad. 2008.

Three girls go on a road trip to see one of their boyfriends who has gone off to college. Jesse works at the Waffle House with the other two girls. Her mother has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a very strict Christian and judges others around her for their choices. Vicks' boyfriend Brady just went off to college a few weeks earlier and the only time he has contacted her so far was with one text message in the middle of the night. Mel, a rich girl and hostess at the Waffle House, just moved to Florida from Canada and doesn't have any friends. She gets invited on the road trip because she offers to pay for it. All three go for different reasons and by the end they learn about themselves and each other. Along they way they have some adventures and break a few laws.

Recommended for fans of these three authors. The book is really about female friendship, so fans of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants should enjoy this one too.

Ivy ***

2008-09-17T19:14:00.004-04:00

Hearn, Julie. Ivy. 2008.

This story takes place in London in the early 1800s. Ivy's family is poor and makes it's living in dishonest ways. When she is little, she is taken away from her family by Carroty Kate, a woman who comes from a gang of criminals worse than her own family. They use her to help them rob people, particularly other children. When Kate dies, Ivy ends up back with her family again. Ivy ends up as an artists model for a rich artist but his mother hates her immediately and does everything she can to be rid if her. Ivy has a problem with laudanum, which is a liquid that was put into water and would put a person to sleep. It's a drug that could easily kill a person if taken improperly.

There were aspects of the story that didn't make sense to me, which I won't write about here because I don't want to give away anything about the plot or characters. Certain things that were in the book didn't add to the story at all and left me wondering why they were in there at all. This book won't disappoint fans of historical fiction, but other readers might not find much to like about it.

Sunrise Over Fallujah ***

2008-09-11T18:54:00.004-04:00

Myers, Walter Dean. Sunrise Over Fallujah. 2008.

I had high hopes for this book, but it did fall a little short. It had been called the Fallen Angels for this generation, but Fallen Angels was far superior in my opinion. For anyone not aware, Fallen Angels was written by Myers a long time ago about the Vietnam War.

This book is just like Fallen Angels but for some reason it just didn't have the same feeling. The novel centers around Birdy (his real name is Robin) and his fellow members of the Civilian Affairs Unit. The aren't infantry, their job is to try to be nice to the locals and help them out. Birdy is from Harlem and his family is really irritated with him for joining the Army after 9/11. His father wanted him to go to college and be an accountant. Birdy seems to send a lot of letters to his Uncle Richie who had served in the Vietnam War. Birdy gets close to Jonesy and Marla, two people in his unit. There are other people, but he seems to not really talk to many of them or have any sort or relationship with them.

It's probably common sense that at least one person is going to die, and I won't spoil that for you. I would recommend this book for anyone wondering what it is like to be over there fighting this war. It did have a lot of detail, some of it disturbing so anyone that reads it will learn a lot. It is worth reading for this reason alone since it is informative.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society *****

2008-09-07T19:19:00.004-04:00

Shaffer, Mary Ann and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. 2007.

This is an adult book appropriate for YAs. At that present time, this novel has been on the NYT Bestseller list for several weeks.

This is one of the cutest books I have read in a great while. Juliet, an author is looking for the next thing to write about when she begins a correspondence with a Literary Society on the island of Guernsey, which is in the English Channel and had been occuppied by the Nazis during World War II. The novel, which takes place in the time just after the war, takes the form of letters to and from Juliet to her editor, her best friend, and to the members of this Literary Society. They write to her about how their Society was formed during the Nazi occupation and why. Eventually, Juliet decides to visit Guernsey and her pen pals.

The book is somewhat predictable at least as far as how it is going to end, but that's not really a problem. The real point of the book is to fun and entertaining, and it succeeds at that.

Geek Magnet ****

2008-09-07T09:58:00.005-04:00

Scott, Kieran. Geek Magnet: A Novel in Five Acts. 2007

KJ is the stage manager of her school's Spring Musical and she has one big problem-- she is a geek magnet. She doesn't lack for male attention but she seems to get all the guys she DOESN'T want, while the one guy she wants doesn't seem to know she is alive. There is Fred, her neighbor who has been following her around for years. Then there is Andy, her Assistant Stage Manager. Then there is Glenn, the kid on the light crew who stares only at her boobs and touches her inappropriately.

Tama, one of the popular girls who happens to have a lead in the play is friends with Cameron, the love of KJ's life. Tama manages to get Cameron interested in KJ. She also offers to help KJ get rid of her guy problem by teaching her to be mean. She manages to get the geeks to back off, but she ends up hurting a lot of feelings along the way and also manages to alienate herself from her best friend and most of the cast in the process.

Meanwhile, KJs father is an alcoholic. He drinks every day and is often mean. The entire family is on eggshells trying to keep him from flying off the handle. Her younger brother Chris is a mess all the time and her mother seems to be oblivious. The alcoholism seems to take a backseat to the whole drama of the musical and doesn't get the treatment it might deserve. I guess the point of the novel was to be fun, so the focus was more on the musical drama and not on the social issues. It makes me wonder if it really needed to be in there to begin with, but that's just a small criticism and it doesn't take away from the novel at all.

Love Sick ***1/2

2008-08-03T09:58:00.002-04:00

Coburn, Jake. LoveSick. 2005.

I enjoyed the book, but the whole premise was so wacky that I had a hard time buying it. First of all, the author states that this is really a true story and that he had their permission to tell it. The story is rather implausible so I would have had issues with it anyway, but saying it is a true story made me even more annoyed because I really doubt this could have happened.

Ted was on his way to a full ride scholarship at a great school. His only problem was his alcoholism, which lead him to crash his car into a tree, busting up his knee. He was ordered to AA and lost his scholarship too. Erica is a rich girl from NYC. She is a bulimic who is supposed to be in recovery but she keeps slipping. Her father and therapist don't think she should go away to school because she isn't totally recovered yet, but she insists she is going. Her father pays an associate of his, Michael, to find someone that needs money, and hire him or her to spy on Erica for them. The job pays full tuition for 4 years, and the only job is to live near her in the dorm and report her activities to Michael. Ted needed the money since he lost his scholarship. Predictably, he ends up falling in love with her and telling her that he was hired to spy on her.

The book was fast paced and I am sure most teens will enjoy it. My only reservation with it, as I stated above, is that it seems totally unrealistic. But, many teens may not care, and just enjoy the story for what it is.

Sweet Valley High ***

2008-07-24T09:09:00.004-04:00

Pascal, Francine. Sweet Valley High #1: Double Love. 1983/2008

They have decided to bring back Sweet Valley High, which is a series *I* loved when I was in middle and high school. They are basically re-packaging the series, bringing it up to date with cell phones, different cars, etc., but the plot lines remain the same. I don't know how many they plan to bring back-- they used to have a new book out every month. I find that SVH is basically a more wholesome version of Gossip Girl, so for schools that can't have them due to content, this is a good alternative.

Liz and Jessica are twins. Liz is the smart nice one, the one on the school newspaper. Jessica is the one that isn't so nice, the cheerleader etc. She has no conscience whatsoever. This first book basically introduces everyone to the case of characters that we will deal with in the rest of the series, but also focuses on the girls wanting the same guy, Todd. Jessica knows Liz and Todd like each other but she stops at nothing to get him.

Cuba 15 ***

2008-07-09T11:02:00.005-04:00

Osa, Nancy. Cuba 15. 2005.

This book wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Violet is half-Cuban and half-Polish. Her family refuses to talk about Cuba. Violet's Grandmother insists that she have a Quince, which is a traditional party in many Hispanic cultures, celebrating the 15th birthday, similar to a Sweet 16. Violet isn't really into it, but she agrees. There is a lot of tension in the house as the party is planned, particularly between Violet and her father, who doesn't like Violet trying to learn about Cuba.

Meanwhile, she is forced to join the school's speech team and competes in the humorous story category, in which is acts out a story. She writes a story about her crazy family, and that is what she competes with all season. She isn't very good at it.

I would recommend this book to anyone Cuban or Hispanic, as they might be interested in reading about a Quince. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it. There are a few things that don't really make sense and certain things never come together. And, then there are aspects to the story that seemed unnecessary, as they don't add to the story at all. The writing is also not very smooth, it feels awfully choppy a lot of the time. The problems in the book are enough to make a person not interested in the subject matter put it down and not pick it up again.

In the Company of Crazies ***

2008-07-05T15:07:00.004-04:00

Baskin, Nora Raleigh. In the Company of Crazies. 2006

Mia is in middle school and suddenly finds herself troubled. Her grades are slipping and she is shoplifting. Her parents send her away to a boarding school for troubled kids. The kids there, only about a dozen it seems, have various psychological diagnoses that make it hard for them to function in a regular school. They are there for a therapeutic environment.

It seems unclear to me why Mia is there. While she has had some problems, it seems that the other kids have a lot more going on that Mia. It didn't seem like Mia really needed to be pulled out of school and put in a residential facility. The other characters were a lot more interesting to me and kept me interested in reading the rest of the book, to see what they were like and what might happen to them as time went on. The ending also seemed a bit rushed to me. There didn't seem to be any real resolution to her problems, but maybe that was because she didn't really have any problems to begin with. Maybe her parents were the ones with the problem!

I would recommend this book for middle school students interested in reading about kids living in a special school.

Game ****

2008-05-05T18:32:00.005-04:00

Myers, Walter Dean. Game. 2008.

I generally enjoy everything Myers writes, and this is no exception. This novel follows a HS basketball team through one season, through the eyes of Drew, a senior on the team. The team has a great chance of making it to the playoffs, and Drew thinks he has a chance of getting recruited by some big name colleges to play ball. Suddenly, the coach adds two new white guys to the team and it shakes things up. The rules all change and it seems that the coaches are favoring the white guys, who they encouraged to move to Harlem so they could be on their team.

Recommended for male readers. This is also a great book for reluctant readers who enjoy basketball or sports.

The House of Djinn. ****1/2

2008-05-04T10:16:00.003-04:00

Staples, Suzanne Fisher. The House of Djinn. 2008.

This is a sequel to Shabanu and Haveli. It's not necessary to read the previous novels to read this. It seems to stand all on its own.

Mumtaz (Muti), daughter of Shabanu, is living with her cousin Omar and his hateful wife Leyla. Leyla mistreats Muti and treats her like a servant. It is her desire to get rid of Muti as fast as she can, but as long as her Baba is alive, she is safe from Leyla. When Baba, the family patriarch, dies suddenly, Muti's life becomes more unstable, particularly when she finds out she is to married to her cousin Jameel, who is to become the head of their tribe. Jameel, who has been living in the US, does not want to come back to live in Pakistan and he doesn't want to marry Muti. Complicating matters is the fact that Muti has discovered her mother has been alive this whole time, living in secret with her Aunt, to stay safe from Uncle Nazir who would kill her if he knew she was still alive.

This was a fantatic book and I highly recommend it for most readers.

Me and Orson Welles ***

2008-04-28T18:29:00.003-04:00

Kaplow, Robert. Me and Orson Welles. 2005.

Why this book was recommended by School Library Journal is beyond me. I don't imagine any teenager would be interested in reading this. In fact, I can't imagine many people would be interested in reading it.

The book follows a week in the life if Richard Samuels who lives in NJ. In an unlikely turn of events, he is cast as Lucius in an Orson Welles production of Julius Caesar. He has to skip school to get to the rehearsals and the performances. He falls in love with Sonja and gets involved in the drama that is the theatre.

I am not sure if the goal of the book is to be coming of age story or a story that exemplifies how crazy Orson Welles was. Either way, it doesn't matter because I don't think either angle is working very well. I also find that most teens aren't all that interested in historical fiction so I don't think a 1930s NYC theatre novel would fly off the shelves of many libraries. I would skip this book unless you have some sort of fascination with Orson Welles.

In the Cards: Fame ****

2008-04-26T15:06:00.003-04:00

Fredericks, Mariah. In the Cards: Fame. 2006.

I didn't realize this was a part of series until I started reading it. The first book was In the Cards: Love. Unlike some other series, however, this book is fine all on it's own; the reader doesn't have to have read the first book in the series to understand what is happening in this one.

The school is abuzz when the music teacher, Mr. Courtney decides to put on the first musical the school has ever had. Eve, a total drama queen auditions for the show and does get in. Her friend Anna is the stage manager and their other friend Syd is also brought in to help out with playing the piano. The show is filled with drama right from the beginning with backstage fights, romance, and feuds. The star of the show has a famous father and starts to fall apart; it's not clear whether or not she will be able to perform at all. All the while, Eve keeps wondering what will happen because the tarot cards predicted something, but she's not sure how it's going to happen.

I recommend this for middle school/early high school girls interested in the theatre or performing, or girls just interested in reading a story with a whole lot of drama and backstabbing.

Cheater ***1/2

2008-04-23T19:25:00.004-04:00

Laser, Michael. Cheater. 2008.

Karl is really smart. So smart that a group of students ask him to join their cheating group. The kids all come from different groups in school and no one would ever suspect they are working together. They use high tech cheating methods, like using cell phones and electronic pencils that send radio waves. Karl knows it's wrong and tries to get out, but he's in too far at that point. The maniacal Vice Principal starts going after cheaters with a vengeance, vowing to expel everyone he catches cheating. This makes things even riskier, but Karl can't seem to get out of it.

The only aspect of the book I had a problem with was that it was unrealistic. I know kids cheat, and they do it a lot. However, I don't think many are using methods like this. If they were smart enough to organize like this and get it to work, they probably don't have to cheat in the first place. Furthermore, the VP expelling people for cheating was also a stretch. A policy like that would never fly. At the very least, the parents would need to get a lawyer and there would be an expulsion hearing, but that didn't seem to happen here. These sorts of things made the book impossible to enjoy thoroughly.

The Pull of the Ocean *****

2008-04-21T17:15:00.003-04:00

Mourlevat, Jean-Claude. The Pull of the Ocean. Text copyright 1999, Translation copyright 2006.

This book won the French Prix Sourcieres and won the American Library Association's Batchelder Award.

This was a great book but it is only appropriate for the middle grades, not high school.

This novel is basically a re-telling of Tom Thumb in modern times. Tom Thumb is a midget/dwarf. He comes from a family of 7 children-- all of the sets of twins except from himself. His father is abusive and his mother is useless. Tom doesn't speak so everyone thinks he is stupid. He is, however, the smartest one in the bunch and he talks with his eyes and body. One night Tom warns his brothers they are in dangers from their parents and they run away.

The novel is written from multiple points of view, from the social worker that brings Tom home from school at the beginning of the story, people they encountered along the way, and all of the siblings themselves. This change in point of view makes the book interesting and keeps it flowing. It wouldn't be nearly as interesting and compelling if it were told from only one character's perspective.

Highly recommended for middle school.

The Missing Girl ****

2008-04-20T10:14:00.005-04:00

Mazer, Norma Fox. The Missing Girl. 2008.

This was a disturbing book. The chapters alternate between five sisters and a man who is obsessed with them. The sisters are having lots of problems at home-- their father is out of a job and the mother is making the only income. She is stressed out and they have no money. The family makes the decision to send one of the sisters to an Aunt so she can help out and take the burden off the family. Meanwhile, a pedophile is obsessed with the girls. He looks forward to seeing them every day. His only problem is choosing which of them he wants. They are all enticing to him in one way or another.

The pedophilia angle can be disturbing to some readers so I would urge caution for readers that might be sensitive to this sort of thing. Otherwise, this was a great book and I had a hard time putting it down.

Ask Me No Questions ***

2008-03-14T10:12:00.004-04:00

Budhos, Marina. Ask Me No Questions. 2006.

This book received a starred review in Booklist and has received favorable reviews just about everywhere else. Despite that, I found I had a hard time getting into this book. Nadira and her sister Aisha are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. After 9/11 they got caught up in a situation where the government was trying to roung up alll potential enemies. They got caught as they tried to escape to Canada. Their father was thrown into prison and left there for questioning. Nadhira and her sister are left to try to help get their father out of prison and get permission to stay in the country despite their illegal status. I found the ended really implausable. I think if the ending was more realistic I would have enjoyed the book a lot better.

I think teens may enjoy the book, particularly those that are interested in the issue of the Patriot Act or illegal immigration.

Repossessed ****

2008-03-09T09:51:00.003-04:00

Jenkins, A.M. Repossessed. 2007.

This is a Printz Honor Book.

What I love about Jenkins is how her books all seem to be so different from each other. It must keep things interesting for her as a writer.

As the book begins, Shaun is about to walk in front of a truck and die. Kiriel, who comes from Hell, has been observing people for some time, and Shaun in particular. Sick of his job in Hell, he takes over Shaun's body just before he is about to die. He is then himself, but in Shaun's body. He takes over his life, but only better. He is actually nice to his annoying brother. He is nice to all of the kids at school. He dresses decently. He does his homework. His one goal now that he is a human it so have sex, specifically with Lane, who he finds beautiful but no one else does.

This book was amusing. It's funny to have a person take over the body of a teenager and to see what his reactions are to the whole thing. Highly recommended for any readers, but male readers in particular.

Catalyst ****

2008-03-04T18:35:00.004-05:00

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Catalyst. 2002.

This was a great book about a girl whose life seems to be falling apart. Kate lives with her brother Toby and her minister father. She seems to take on a lot of the responsibility around the house. Her father means well but seems to always be busy with things. She is really stressed out about college. She only applied to MIT and is eagerly awaiting their decision.

Teri, an unpopular girl at school, steals Kate's watch. Kate follows her home and discovers that Teri's mom is unable to do much for herself and Teri is the one taking care of things at her house too. Then her house burns down. Her father lets Teri and her little brother move in which really gets Kate's blood boiling. She has to give up her bed and can't sleep for all the snoring.

I won't give anything more away about the plot. This was a great book about a high strung high school student, which is something many readers will relate to.

Feathers ****1/2

2008-02-25T09:20:00.003-05:00

Woodson, Jacqueline. Feathers. 2007.

This is a Newbery Honor Book.

This was a great book. I normally only read books aimed at HS students, but this book was a Newbery Honor book so I thought I would read it anyway. No high school student would be interested in this book at all, but younger readers would.

Frannie is going through a lot. She lives on the side of town where all of the black people live. Her brother is deaf. Her mother has lost babies in the past and is pregnant again. A new white boy moves in and is the only white boy at their school. Because of his long hair, people start calling him Jesus Boy. Immediately, some of the school bullies start to give him a hard time. Frannie feels a connection to him but doesn't want to get involved and become a target of the bullies herself.

Frannie is an honest and flawed character. She is easy to like and her story should keep readers interested.

Before I Die ****

2008-02-23T20:19:00.003-05:00

Downham, Jenny. Before I Die. 2007.

I read this book because it's on the ALA's Best Books for YAs List. In fact, it's in the Top 10. After reading the book and finding it lacking, I looked at some reviews of it on Amazon. It seems that people either really love this book or, like me, don't understand what all the hype is about. I wanted to give three stars, but given the fact that so many people loved it, I decided to bump it up an extra star. I figure dozens of other people have loved it, so I should take that into account.

The main character, Tessa, is dying from Leukemia. She has a list of 10 things that she wants to accomplish before she dies. Some of these things include having sex, falling in love, getting her parents back together and breaking the law. She manages to fulfill all of the things on her list, or least tries.

The book might be rather depressing to some, although I didn't think so. I saw it as a positive story, at least insofar as Tessa was trying to make something positive out of the little time she had left. I think the problem I had with the book is the characters, Tessa in particular. They were unlikable. Tessa isn't really likable at all. Her best friend Zoey seems like a bad influence. Her mother is a loser. Her father is a main character, but I didn't get a sense of anything about him. I think, since Tessa is the narrator, that it's all about her and she doesn't bother with telling us much about him and his life. I don't think she even bothers to know what her father's life is like outside of taking care of her. I know she is dying but she seems awfully self-centered which makes her unlikable to me.

American Born Chinese ****1/2

2008-02-16T19:29:00.003-05:00

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. 2006.

I am a little late to the party as far as this book is concerned. It won all sorts of awards and accolades and I am just now getting to it. In my defense, I am not really into graphic novels, so I put it off for that reason.

Anyway, the book starts out with appears to be disconnected stories. Then, as the book comes to an end, the different story lines come togehter and it all makes sense. The story primarily revolves around Jin Wang, a new student in school. He was born in America, but is of Chinese decent. He eventually befriends a new Taiwanese kid who is, as he calls it, fresh off the boat. They stay friends all through school until there is a fight that splits them up. Meanwhile, we hear the story of the Monkey King. We also have a story line with a white boy that is followed around by his embarassing Chinese relative who is a total stereotype. It's a little hard to explain the book, honestly.

Fans of graphic novels would enjoy it. Anyone looking to read something different should check this one out. It's definitely different and interesting.

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? ***1/2

2008-02-11T20:51:00.001-05:00

Kantor, Melissa. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where is my Prince? 2005.

I could tell you what was going to happen in this book right from the beginning. This is stereotypical YA lit. In a nutshell: Girl's mother dies. Girl's father remarries a woman with two children. Father moves them across the country. Stepmother treats her unfairly. In the end, they come to an understanding and live happily ever after. And, on top of that, there is the "new girl" stereotype on top of it. She falls for the most popular guy in school, he falls for her and now she is instantly popular too, even though no one would talk to her just last week.

There is nothing new here, but it's still entertaining if if you are into this sort of thing and haven't read it 20 times already. The good thing about this one is that Lucy is pretty cool and readers might enjoy her sarcastic wit.

The UnResolved ****

2008-02-10T20:58:00.000-05:00

Welsh, T.K The UnResolved. 2006.

I have to admit that I had never heard of the boat accident that is detailed in this book, despite the fact that it was apparently a huge disaster. The book in narrated by Mallory who is dead. She begins by telling us how she died--her and her family were on a boat headed to Long Island for a church activity in 1904. She meets Dustin in an empty room so they can kiss. While they are in the room, a group of boys catch them and a bit of a scuffle occurs. Shortly thereafter, the boat catches fire.

Mallory dies in the blaze and then sticks around, visiting her family, Dustin, and those that are partially responsible for the wreck. There is plenty of blame to go around but no one seems to be able to figure out the truth. The grieving familes, thirsty for revenge, want revenge on Dustin, who they believe to be at fault.

This was a great book. It's another in a recent trend in YA lit in which a dead person narrates the story. This one was very well done and I recommend it for fans of historical fiction.

Persepolis *****

2008-02-09T13:58:00.000-05:00

Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. 2003.

I'm a little embarassed to admit it has taken me this long to read this fabulous graphic novel. I saw an advertisement for the new movie and it reminded me that I had been meaning to read it for years.

This is an autobiographical work about Marjane's childhood in Iran. It starts out with her going to school as a carefree girl, and then shows the changes that occurred in the country as it came under religious rule. All of the girls had to wear the chador and follow other Islamic rules. This was a hard time for Marjane's family since they were a modern family and opposed the new regime. Then the war with Iraq occurred which made things even more unsafe for the citizens of Iran.

I think even people that aren't generally interested in graphic novels would enjoy this book.
Not only is there now a movie version of this book but there is a sequel entitled Persepolis 2.

The Heroines ****

2008-02-07T19:23:00.001-05:00

Favorite, Eileen. The Heroines. 2007.

This is an adult book appropriate for YAs.

Penny and her mother Anne-Marie live in the Bed and Breakfast in which Anne-Marie grew up. Throughout her life Anne Marie has had visits from famous book characters. The first was Cathering Ernshaw from Wuthering Heights. She arrives at the part where she is deciding who she should marry. Heathcliff comes after her and eventually they are sent on their way to finish their story. Over the years other characters have visited, including Ophelia, Scarlett O'Hara, and Madame Bovary.

Now, in the present, Deirdre arrives. At first they don't realize she is a Heroine but then they figure that out, but not from what story she comes. Conor, a King, comes for her and Penny is the one that ends up dealing with him. When she returns home, the cops have been called already so that forces a trip to the ER for a rape kit, even though she wasn't raped. Sick of her mother putting the heroines first, Penny goes nuts in the ER and is finally placed in the psych ward for being a paranoid schizophrenic.

This is a really cute story. It's light-heared and it's nothing serious, just some good fun. Recommend for female readers who enjoy off-beat books.

The Luxe ****

2008-02-04T10:13:00.002-05:00

Godbersen, Anna. The Luxe.

I am just getting back into reading YA novels again after taking a break. I forgot to review The Luxe a few months ago when it first came out. I had been eagerly anticipating it and was over the moon when it came in at my local public libary.

The book didn't disappoint. I would describe this as a historical Gossip Girl. The characters are all rich teenagers growing up at the turn-of-the-century. Elizabeth is in love with one of the servants but she is forced to marry Henry. Henry doesn't want her either, but he must marry her or he will be disinherited. Meanwhile, Henry is in love with another girl who also wants to marry him. When he chooses Elizabeth, she freaks out. Elizabeth supposedly dies by plunging into the Hudson River, but it's not clear if she is dead or if she ran away. This leaves things open for further installments of this new series.

I highly recommend this new series to girls who are fans of series fiction or historical fiction.

Poseur ***

2008-02-04T10:05:00.001-05:00

Maude, Rachel. Poseur. 2007.

I found this book to be "just OK." It didn't draw me in like some other series like Gossip Girl. The characters in this book all attend a private school in LA. They are all registered in a special projects class in school. These four girls decide to start their own clothing line, and they only have a short time in which to do it. Complicating matters is the fact that they are all very different from each other. Janie isn't rich and she comes from The Valley. Charlotte is rich and spoiled. Melissa is the daughter of a famous musician. Petra isn't into fashion or the rich lifestyle.

While not realistic, teens who enjoy this sort of series fiction will probably enjoy this new series.

21 Proms ***1/2

2007-10-08T16:07:00.001-04:00

Levithan, David, and Daniel Ehrenhaft, eds. 21 Proms. 2007

The editors drafted various YA authors to write a short story about Prom. Some authors include Jacqueline Woodson, Cecily Von Ziegesar, John Green, and others. Most of the stories are pretty enjoyable.

I had a hard time rating this one because I enjoyed it, but I know other people may not. I would recommend it for fans of short stories, which I know leaves lots of people out! Anyone that is prom-obsessed might also enjoy reading about some prom experiences. And, of course, if you are a fan of any of the authors that are included, you will want to at least read their story!

Pretty Little Liars ****

2007-10-08T15:55:00.000-04:00

Shepard, Sara. Pretty Little Liars. 2006.

I just discovered this new series and am totally hooked. This series follows 4 girls that live on the Main Line in Philadelphia, which is a fancy suburban area. Years ago, they all were friends along with a fifth girl who mysteriously went missing. Alison had dirt on each of the other four girls, so when she disappeared, it was almost a bit of a relief to them even though they missed her. After her disappearance, Aria moved away and the others drifted apart.

Now, they are well into high school and Aria is moving back into town. Each girl starts getting text messages from someone who seems to know everything they are up to, and knows all of their secrets. Is Alison alive and stalking all of them or does someone else know the truth about everything?

Anyone reading the first book has to continue on with the series because there is a cliffhanger. There is enough juicy stuff going on to keep readers interested to see what will happen next. The only problem is probably the same with all other series-- the wait in between books!

Summer Boys ***

2007-08-10T14:53:00.000-04:00

Abbott, Hailey. Summer Boys.

I am a little late to the party as far as getting into this series. I had heard of it, but never bothered to try reading them. The series follows a group of cousins and friends each summer at their summer cottages in Maine. The story lines all seem to follow the romantic lives of the girls and guys and nothing else. So, while the books are interesting in the soap-opera sort of way that keeps you coming back for more, there isn't anything else going on aside from crushes, dating, and sex. I would recommend the series for fans of series fiction.

Tyrell ****

2007-07-11T20:33:00.000-04:00

Booth, Coe. Tyrell. 2006.

This was a great book but it's not necessarily appopriate for all high school library collections due to some coarse language. While it would be fine in many schools, it may not be ok for some schools that are more conservative.

This novel takes place in NYC. Tyrell is 16 and he is more or less the man of the family. His father is in prison and his mother is unable, or unwilling, to take care of the family. She never wants to find a job and spends her time complaining about how Ty needs to make money to support them. She is irresponsible and often leaves Tyrell's younger brother alone or doesn't supervise him properly. The family has been living in the Projects, but now they can't even live there and are homeless, being shuttled around from shelter to shelter.

Ty is dating Novisha, who goes to Catholic School and is strict about not having sex. Ty meets Jasmine who has had a troubled life and uses sex to get attention. She likes Ty but Ty is committed to Novisha. However, the free sex Jasmine is offering is tempting, especially since Novisha is waiting until she gets married to have sex.

Ty decides to make money by using his father's audio equipment to throw a big party, with him as a DJ. He has to get help from his father's friends and other criminals from the neighborhood, but he doesn't know of any other way to make enough money to get his family into an apartment. The entire time the reader hopes Ty can pull himself together and not get arrested.

Love, Meg ****

2007-07-02T21:03:00.000-04:00

Purtill, C. Leigh. Love, Meg. 2007.

I received an advanced reader's copy of this book. I enjoyed it a lot. It's about a girl named Meg. She is obsessed with the TV show Friends and Jennifer Aniston. She believes that her and Jen are friends. She writes letters and she writes back. Even though Jen hasn't written back in a few years, Meg keeps writing to her.

Meg lives with her sister in California. Her sister is a mess and they move all over the place, all the time. When Meg discovers that her sister is really her mother, she leaves to go stay with her Grandmother and Uncle, who she didn't know existed. She learns who her father is and tries to find him. Her Grandmother is manipulative and mean. Her Uncle is sick and tired of taking care of his mother and wants to get on with his life. Meg makes a good friend who comes from a nice family, one that shows her what a real loving family is like. This makes her want to find her father even more, so she can be a part of a happy family.

Readers will like Meg. She is a great character and really likable. Highly recommended.

Does My Head Look Big in This? ****

2007-06-27T17:40:00.000-04:00

Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Does My Head Look Big in This? 2005.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about a Muslim girl living in Australia. Amal's family lives near Melbourne. While they are somewhat strict and religious, Amal has never worn the hijab, nor has she even been encouraged to do so. Suddenly, she decides to start wearing it full-time, not just to religious services. This is a big decisions in a post 9/11 world, in which Muslims from all over the world were looked at with suspicion. The hijab would bring attention to her and make her appear different, which is the last thing any teenager needs. Amal has a crush on Adam, who is white and Christian. He doesn't seem to get why she wants to wear the hijab, but does try to understand. Because her culture doesn't really allow for dating, particularly outside their religion, their relationship really can't go anywhere, but she likes him anyway.

There are other side stories going on with Amal's friends, which brings more depth to the novel. Simone is a little overweight and spends her life obsessing over her weight. The most interesting character is Leila who is also Muslim, but her family is ultra-conservative. Her mother doesn't even want her to continue her schooling and continues to try to marry her off to every available guy she comes across. They don't like Leila going out and particularly at night, thinking it makes her look like a bad girl. All Leila wants to do is graduate HS and go on the become a lawyer. This conflict adds to the story and shows the differences that exist even within Islam itself.

I recommend this novel for anyone interested in learning a little bit about Islam. And, certainl Muslim teens will love being able to find someone like themselves in a book for once!

A Thousand Splendid Suns *****

2007-06-26T17:56:00.000-04:00

Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. 2007.

While this book is somewhat advanced, I wanted to mention it here because it was superb. This is the author of The Kite Runner which was awesome. I didn't think he could top that one, but he did manage to do just that with this book.

Hosseini follows three decades of upheaval in Afghanistan. Unlike the characters in The Kite Runner, these characters don't leave Afghanistan, so they are there to see all of the turmoil that went on there for decades. The main character is Mariam, who is the illegitimate daughter of a rich man. He eventually marries her off to an older man when she is only in her teens. Rasheed is old and mean. After she is unable to produce an heir for him, he becomes even meaner. Then, he takes another wife.

Laila is that wife. She is alone and scared. Her parents have died from a bomb. The love of her life has left for Pakistan. Mariam and Rasheed, who had been her neighbors, take her in and nurse her back to health. When she finds out Tariq is dead, she agrees to marry Rasheed because she realizes she has nowhere else to go.

As time wears on, things continue to get worse as the Taliban takes over the entire country. Rasheed becomes even meaner, particularly now that the Taliban has stripped women of all of their power.

I highly recommend this book to advanced readers. This was a gripping novel and readers will not be disappointed.

The A-List ****

2007-06-25T12:10:00.001-04:00

Dean, Zoey. The A-List. New York: Little Brown & Company, 2003.

We have another hit series on our hands. Similar to the Gossip Girl series, this new series features rich spoiled kids who are backstabbing each other while wearing Manolos.

Anna, a high school senior, decides to leave NYC to live with her father in LA. On the plane ride out, she meets Ben, a student at Princeton, who is traveling home to LA. They hit it off and he invites her to a wedding he will be attending that evening. The wedding is between a hot A-List actor and his very pregnant and very young girlfriend. His daughter, Sam, isn't happy about it, but is looking forward to seeing Ben at the wedding because she is secretly in love with him. So are her two best friends. All three plan to hook up with Ben at the wedding, but haven't told each other. Imagine their surprise when he shows up with some stranger he met on the plane. The action all happens in 24 hours, from the plane ride, through the wedding, and through to the next morning.

This isn't exactly a literary masterpiece, BUT, it will be very popular with teen girls, much like the similar Gossip Girl series. The rest of the series will probably continue on with all four girls fighting over Ben or various other guys, and lots of other drama. The plot will be interesting for teen girls and keep them coming back for more.

Good Girls *** 1/2

2007-06-12T21:46:00.000-04:00

Ruby, Laura. Good Girls. 2006.

This was a fairly good book. Audrey randomly hooks up with Luke at parties. When it becomes apparent that they are only going to hook up and never have a relationship, she cuts things off with him at a party, but not before giving him a parting blow job in a closet. While she is *ahem* on her knees, someone opens the door and takes a picture of the couple but they don't know who it was. The next day, the picture is flying around the internet and being sent from cell phone to cell phone. It even appears on the school's library computers. All of a sudden, Audrey goes from being a good girl to being the school slut, even thought she is a virgin.

Girls will enjoy this book. It's a serious topic, but it is dealt with in a non-serious sort of way. I don't mean that in a bad way. It's not preachy or anything, it's just an interesting and entertaining story.

Gossip Girl *****

2007-06-12T19:31:00.002-04:00

Von Ziegesar, Cecily. Gossip Girl. Boston, Little Brown, 2002.

Is this series a literary masterpiece? Absolutely not. Is this series wildly popular? Heck, yes. That is why there are five starts up there next to the title. If it's popular, I think it's a good thing, because it means people are reading something. I read the first book and the next few in the series over a year ago, but I couldn't read the rest because they are always checked out. One thing I know is that they are definitely addictive.

This series is basically a soap opera in a book. It's fabulous. Blair and her friends are all rich and go to a fancy prep school. Blair is dating Nate, who goes to a fancy prep school for boys. All of a sudden, Serena, her former best friend, comes home suddenly and throws things totally off-kilter. Serena used to go out with Nate and now Nate doesn't really want Blaire anymore. There are many other characters that will all play a part in the series as it continues to unfold. The series is supposed to have 11 books in it, total. I can't wait to get to the end!

Anyone that enjoys drama drama drama will like this book. It it chick lit at its finest-- it's addictive and juicy. If you haven't read this series, what are you waiting for?!

What Happened to Cass McBride *****

2007-06-04T10:29:00.001-04:00

Giles, Gail. What Happened to Cass McBride? 2006.

This was a great book! This book alternates perspective between Cass, who is currently buried alive; Kyle, who is now in jail; and Ben, the cop working the case. Kyle has buried Cass alive because he blames her for the death of his brother David. David was a shy kid who had a hard time at home, dealing with constant criticism from his mother. When he asks Cass out on a date, she is polite to him but writes a note to her friend telling her how David was a loser and had just asked her out. David read the note and then killed himself by hanging himself from the tree in his front yard. Blaming her for the death, Kyle decides to bury her alive to torture her like her brother had been tortured his whole life.

This was a great novel that really gets into the heads of all of the characters. The reader will be fascinated by all of the characters and won't want to put the book down until they get to the end.

Angels on Sunset Boulevard ****

2007-05-09T14:02:00.000-04:00

De La Cruz, Melissa. Angels on Sunset Boulevard. 2007.

I had been eagerly anticipating this novel because I am a fan of the Au Pairs series by the same author.

This novel folllows a group of teens in LA that are involved in an odd sort of cult. They all gather on a MySpace type of web page, Tap.com. There are TAP parties every other weekend. There is a goal by everyone invited to eventually get invited into the private party at the parties where they are initiated into the group for life. Some of the people involved are Nick, a rich kid, who is dating Maxine. Johnny, a singer, becomes famous just from his exposure on TAP.com. His girlfriend, Taj is also involved. After Johnny disappears suddenly at his first concert, Taj tries to figure out what is going on. She suspects Johnny's manager, who also happens to be the head of TAP, is behind it but she can't figure it out. Nick's sister goes to one of the parties and also disappears, along with other LA teens. Nick and Taj are both trying to figure out what the real story is behind these parties, but the people in charge don't want the truth to come out.

This was an interesting stor, filled with parties, drinking, and rich kids. It has a totally different feel than Au Pairs, however. It's less soap-opera-ish and more angst-y.

Impulse **** 1/2

2007-04-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hopkins, Ellen. Impulse. 2007.

I enjoyed this book far better than Crank. In fact, I found Crank so hard to get through that I don't believe I ever finished it. This is a novel told in verse, so for anyone that can't stand that, read no further.

This story follows three teens in a mental institution. All three are there for trying to kill themselves. Conner is the child of rich, overbearing parents that only care about his success. After shooting himself, he is in the hospital. Even now, his parents continue to pressure him about his grades and college. Tony is a gay teen who has been abused by a number of his prostitute mother's boyfriends over the years. He has also sold himself for drugs. His father dropped he and his mother years ago and left to make a new life for himself, leaving Tony to try to fend for himself. Vanessa is bi-polar and tried to commit suicide. Her mother had been bi-polar as well, and had also tried to kill herself. Her father had essentially abandoned her with the mother and let the Grandmother handle it all. These three teens enter the facility at around the same time together and go through treatment together. The story changes perspective between the three characters throughout the book.

This book is really long, 666 pages to be exact. But, because it's poetry, it isn't full pages, so it goes really fast. Don't let the size scare you. This was a great book with sympathetic characters. Their stories were interesting and readers should be interested in readind about their lives and how they got to this place.

Story of a Girl ****1/2

2007-04-05T12:12:00.000-04:00

Zarr, Sara. Story of a Girl. 2007.

When Deanna was 13, her father caught her having sex with Tommy, a 17 year old friend of her brother. From that point on, Deanna's life changed. Her father can barely look at her and he doesn't talk to her anymore. At school, she became known as the girl with a bad reputation. As a consequence, she isn't very popular. Her best friend is a guy. She is sort of interested in him, but he is dating her only other friend, Lee. Deanna's home life is tense. In addition to her father not talking to her, her brother Darren lives in the basement with his girlfriend Stacy and their infant daughter. Deanna dreams of getting out of her house. In her fantasy, she moves out of the house with her brother and Stacy and lives with them. To reach that dream, she gets a summer job. The only one she can get is at a local pizza place, where she discovers Tommy works.

This was a great novel and I highly recommend it to any reader. Deanna is a great character. Readers will appreciate a character like Deanna-- someone who has made mistakes and who is trying to make her life better.

Twisted ****

2007-04-02T18:56:00.000-04:00

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Twisted. 2007.

I enjoyed this latest book by Anderson. Tyler has always been a bit of a nerd and never really popular. He got it into his head to deface school property and got caught. Because of this, he was arrested and is now on parole; he had been forced to do community service as his punishment. Now, as school is about the begin, he finds he is being received differently-- now some kids are scared of him and some are in awe of him. One kid that has always hated him was Chip. Chip is a rich kid. Tyler just so happens to have a crush on Chip's sister Bethany. Tyler's father also happens to work for their father. Chip seems hell bent on making Tyler's life miserable, especially when Bethany starts to pay attention to him. After an incident at a party involving Bethany, Tyler is accused of being the perpetrator, even though he isn't. He is blamed primarily because everyone knows he likes her and also because of his criminal past.

Readers will feel Tyler's pain as they read the book. He is so unhappy and also really misunderstood, particularly his own father who is also a bully. As Tyler begins to contemplate suicide, the reader can really feel his pain and understand how he got to this place.

Highly recommended for all readers.

An Unlikely Friendship ***1/2

2007-03-21T17:43:00.000-04:00

Rinaldi, Ann. An Unlikely Friendship: A Novel of Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley. 2007.

This was an interesting and enjoyable historical fiction novel.

The first half details the troubled childhood of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of President Lincoln. The lives of her and her siblings became messy and unhappy after her mother's death and her father's subsequent remarriage. Their step mother was somewhat "evil" and made the house an unhappy one.

The second half was about the interesting life of Elizabeth Keckley who was born into slavery. Her mother was her white master, and her mother one of his slaves. She experienced a better upbringing because of her status. When she learned she could buy her own freedom, she decided to do that. She was an excellent seamstress and managed to make some great connections. Finally, after she had bought her own freedom, she managed to hook up with Mary Todd Lincoln and they became great friends.

The only problem I had with the book was that the friendship wasn't really fleshed out. There wasn't really any details on why these two women were friends. I felt that the stories of both women were really interesting. Frankly, I wish there was more detail for each woman and that each woman got her own book. After all, the friendship wasn't really important to the novel anyway, so there wasn't a need to bring both girls together into the same novel. Still, their lives were both fascinating and I think fans of historical fiction will enjoy reading about them.

Surrender ****

2007-02-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

Hartnett, Sonya. Surrender. 2005.

When Anwell is young, he becomes responsible for the death of his cognitively impaired brother. His mother doensn't have a full handle on reality and his father isn't altogether warm and loving either. Anwell meets Finnigan in the woods near his house and he is really his only friend. Finnigan begins to start fires around town and noone seems to be able to figure out who is doing it. Anwell also adopts the name Gabriel, after the angel. His father starts to spearhead a vigilante group to find the perpetrator and also go against the Sheriff who has been unable to catch the arsonist.

This book can be best described as a psychological thriller. As we are reading, we aren't entirely sure what is really happening and if the narrators are telling us the truth or the whole truth. In fact, for most of the book I was wondering of Finnigan existed at all, or if he was even possibly one of Anwell's multiple personalities. This is a great book for anyone interested in reading a book that keeps you wondering what is really going on right up until the end.

Forever in Blue *****

2007-02-08T19:48:00.000-05:00

Brashares, Ann. Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood. 2007.

I can't believe this series is OVER. I guess maybe Brashares felt she had taken the girls as far as she wanted to and wants to leave the rest up to our imagination. I was so sad the series was over, but when I told my husband about it, he thinks that this will lead to a new set of girls and a whole new series. Who knows? I hope so!

There is probably no need to go into details here. This book basically follows the girl in the summer after their Freshman year. All of them are separate again. Bridget is off to Greece working on an archaological dig while her boyfriend is at soccer camp. She starts to fall for a married guy on the dig and doesn't know what to do about it. Carmen is convinced to go to a theatre camp by a college friend so that she can work on sets, but ends up getting invited to audition for the plays. Lena is at her college for the summer and meets a fellow artist. She likes him, but is she truly over Kostos? Tibby is in NY for the summer too, and is taking a screenwriting course. She becomes lost after a pregnancy scare.

All readers know that the girls will come together at the end of the book, otherwise it wouldn't really make any sense. Fans of the series will love this book and should gobble it up all in one setting. For anyone that hasn't read this series, go out and start reading it NOW.

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life ****

2007-01-31T18:12:00.000-05:00

Reinhardt, Dana. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. 2006.

Simone is adopted, and has always known this. Now she is older and her parents tell her that her birth mother, Rivka, wants to meet her. Simone has never really been interested in that, but her parents push her to do so. When she does, she learns that Rivka has a terminal illness. Simone learns about Rivka's background and the circumstances surrounding her adoption. She learns a lot about family and herself. There are a lot of other threads going through the story, too to keep things interesting and moving along.

Recommended for anyone that has been adopted as they may identify with Simone's feelings. Also recommended for anyone interested in reading about families and the characters's changing place in their family.

Blood and Chocolate ****1/2

2007-01-22T18:17:00.000-05:00

Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and Chocolate. 1997.

I have been meaning to read this book for years. Now that a movie version of the book is coming out this week, I thought now was a good time to finally read it.

Vivian lives with a pack of werewolves. There is a lot of internal strife over who the new leader will be. The younger members have been getting into mischief. They try to not to kill humans because it can get them into trouble. When some humans start to get killed, no one knows who is doing the killing and Vivian thinks it is her. She ends up falling for Aidan, a regular boy. The pack isn't happy about it because they don't want her to date anyone else; they threaten to hurt him if she continues. She doesn't listen and things inevitably become complicated.

This was a great novel. I don't normally enjoy vampire/werewolf type books, but this one was quite good. The characters were interesting and the plot was very rich. Vivian also experiences many emotions throughout the novel and the author describes them quite well so we get not just plot, but feeling as well. Highly recommended.

Private ****

2007-01-20T21:05:00.001-05:00

Brian, Kate. Private. 2006.

This is yet another new teen series featuring teenage girls. In this series, the girls are living at an exclusive boarding school for girls in New England. The action primarily follows Reed, a girl that has come to the school on scholarship. She goesthere to get away from an alcoholic mother and to try to make something of herself. Once she gets there, she is intrigued by The Billings Girls, an exclusive group of girls that live in a special dorm by invitation only. Amazingly, the group seems to take a liking to her and she thinks she might have a chance at getting invited as an official member of the group. It seems that membership means following a set of rules and doing things she might not want to do, and she wonders if it is really worth it.

This series is recommended for any fans of the other series circulating around now.

Lush ****

2007-01-14T10:32:00.000-05:00

Friend, Natasha. Lush. 2006.

Sam's father is an alcoholic. She is afraid to bring people home because of his erratic behavior. He keeps everyone on edge all the time, because they never know what he will do next. Her father claims that he has given up drinking, but she knows differently because she knows where he has his bottles stashed, and the levels keep going down. Her Grandmother is in denial about it all and her mother pretends like it isn't happening. It seems to Sam that she is the only one that seems to see what is going on.

Sam doesn't know where to turn because she can't tell her friends what she is going through. She starts exchanging letters with a stranger at the public library by leaving their letters in the same book on the shelves. She doesn't know who she is corresponding with, but she feels better having someone to talk to. She starts to get the attention of a HS boy, Drew, and this starts to get her into some trouble along the way too.

I highly recommend this book to middle and high school readers, particularly those that have relatives with alcohol problems. There are resources at the end of the book for readers interested in learning more about the topic and also getting help if they are in the same situation.

The Facts Speak for Themselves ***1/2

2007-01-03T18:09:00.000-05:00

Cole, Brock. The Facts Speak for Themselves. 1997.

This book is narrated by Linda who has just been taken to a home for troubled teens while the police investigate a recent murder. She goes back in time and tells the reader about her mother and their life together. Her mother has made many bad choices, most of them because of men. She seems to be unable to be alone and she goes from one man to another. She becomes pregnant with one man's baby and then leaves it in the care of Linda while she does whatever she wants. Then she marries an elderly man and moves them to Florida, but when he starts to show signs of old age, she splits, leaving Linda there to take care of the man herself. When things go wrong, her mother finally retrieves her and is pregnant with yet another man's child. Things go from bad to worse, with Linda stuck in the middle and trying to be good and take care of everyone.

The reader sympathizes with Linda because she doesn't really seem to know any better and she is making some awful choices herself, but it is because she doesn't know what is right or wrong anymore after watching her mother live a life of bad choices. This isn't a happy story and doesn't end with all of the ends tied up neatly with Linda all cured and happy. Still, readers may enjoy seeing what it is like to be a teenager that has lived a life like this, in her own words.

The 310: Life as a Poser ****

2007-01-02T17:58:00.001-05:00

Killian, Beth. Life as a Poser. 2006.

I just can't get enough of these series that keep popping up. This series, the 310 series, is from MTV books (who knew MTV put out books?) This series isn't as scandalous as Gossip Girl so anyone that can't read that series because of its content may like this series as an alternative.

The series follows Eva Cordes who has moved from Massachusettes to California. Her Aunt Laurel is an LA agent and she will be working to get Eva into show business. Her mother, a former star herself, has never been in Eva's life and lives with Laurel. Eva is living in the company apartment complex with a variety of aspiring teen actresses, all of whom add spice to the story. C Money, whose mother is a casting agent, sets his sights on Eva but Eva can't stand him. Laurel, however, makes her date him because if she rejects him, she may never get work. Meanwhile, Eva is desperate to find out who her father is since she has never been told who he is.

The book leaves lots of story lines open and I can see this series can go on for quite some time, assuming it catches on. Not much is really resolved because the author wants to lead the reader into reading the next book in the series. Highly recommended for girls who are interested in these types of series books.

The It Girl ****

2006-12-24T19:28:00.001-05:00

Von Ziegesar, Cecily. The It Girl. New York: Little, Brown, 2005.

This is a spin-off series from the popular Gossip Girl series. Jenny Humphrey, after being kicked out of Constance Billard, enroles in Waverly, a co-ed boarding school in upstate New York. She wants to start the new year off on the right foot and forget about "Old Jenny". Her goal is to be popular, the "It Girl" on campus.

She takes over the bed that used to belong to Tinsley, who left the previous year after being kicked out over mysterious circumstances. She is rooming with Brett and Callie, best friends that are no longer speaking to each other after Tinsley was kicked out. Similar to Gossip Girl, there are spurned loves, and unrequited crushes. There are also a lot of parties and drinking, both on campus and off.

In between the chapters are Emails and Text Messages from students and others about incidents happening in the book, mostly gossip, similar to Gossip Girl. Fans of Gossip Girl will love this series, although it is somewhat tamer.

The Clique ****

2006-12-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

Harrison, Lisi. The Clique. 2004.

This is the first book in the very popular middle school series. I would describe this as Gossip Girl for younger readers, and without the smut. It has lots of catty behavior, and lots of name dropping, but none of the sex and stuff like that.

Massie is a part of a group of four really popular girls at their very exclusive private school in Westchester County, NY. Massie, Dylan, Kristen, and Alicia. An old friend of Massie's father decides to move there from Florida and takes a job at the same company. Until they can afford a house of their own, the Lyons family will be living in the pool house. They have a daughter, Claire, that is also going into 7th grade. Massie tries to push Claire on her and Massie doesn't like it one bit, especially since she is a bit of a dork. Claire wants to be a part of their group desperately regardless of the fact that the girls want nothing to do with her.

Recommended for girls in the middle grades that like gossip-y type books.

Other books in the series:
Best Friends for Never
Revenge of the Wannabees
Invasion of the Boy Snatchers
The Pretty Committee Strikes Back

The Loud Silence of Francine Green ****

2006-11-11T20:16:00.000-05:00

Cushman, Karen. The Loud Silence of Francine Green. 2006.

Francine is the quiet and sort of boring middle child of the Green Family. The country is scared of the Communists and is in the process of ferreting all of the Communists from America. The Green family, like many families, are erecting a bomb shelter in their backyard. Her family lives in Los Angeles, right in the middle of the entertainment industry.

Francine goes to Catholic School and becomes friends with a new girl, Sophie. Sophie is outspoken and questions authority. Her father and a family friend are blacklisted because the FBI is convinced they are Communists. Sophie shows Francine another view and also teaches her to speak up and ask questions, to not just accept everything she is told as fact.

Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction. This novel has a slightly different feel than Cushman's previous novels, which all feature girls during the Middle Ages. But, Francine is similar to Cushman's previous characters-- they are smart and they are ahead of their time.

Kiss Me Tomorrow ***

2006-10-22T14:31:00.000-04:00

Shreve, Susan. Kiss Me Tomorrow. 2006.

Blister (aka Alyssa) and her best friend Jonah are just starting Junior High. He dumps Blister so he can follow around the "cool" kids. These kids aren't the best behaved kids in school and they end up leaving Jonah with a bunch of shoplifted electronics equipment. Blister knows Jonah would have never steal anything. After he runs away, Blister knows where to find him and tries to help him stay hidden. Meanwhile, her mother and her boyfriend decide to move into a house together, which just so happens to be across the street from Jakob, one of the guys that left Jonah to take the rap for the shoplifting.

This was a good middle school title. Recommended for middle school girls.

Klepto ***

2006-10-14T19:19:00.000-04:00

Pollack, Jenny. Klepto. 2006.

The year is 1981 and Julie is about to start at the NYC High School for the Performing Arts. She immediately makes friends with another girl Julie that is pretty and seems to have everything. She starts to hang out with Julie where she learns how to shoplift all sorts of things from all sorts of stores. After awhile Julie finds that she is unable to stop shoplifting and thinks she has become a kleptomaniac. She has other problems as well. Her parents are always fighting. Her older sister seems to be a total introvert with no friends. She really likes Josh, but he doesn't seem to like her back, at least at first. Julie becomes afraid that she can't stop shoplifting but she is also afraid Julie will dump her if she stops, which would leave her without a best friend.

My only problem with the book is that it felt more like the author was trying to make a point rather than write an entertaining story. The author blurb even stated that the author attended this high school and used to be a shoplifter, so perhaps the problem was that it was non-fiction packaged as fiction. This isn't to say this isn't a good book, it just wasn't one of the better ones I have read.

Sold **** 1/2

2006-10-12T12:54:00.000-04:00

McCormick, Patricia. Sold. 2006.

Lakshmi, a 13 year old girl from Nepal, lives with her mother and her step-father. He has a gambling problem and he doesn't work, so that leave the family poor. Lakshmi has asked to be allowed to go to the city to work as a maid like her friend, but her parents have never allowed it. Eventually, they don't have a choice and her step-father sells her to a woman who says she is taking her to the city to be a maid. The truth is that she is taking her to the border of India where she will be smuggled in and then sold into prostitution.

Lakshmi fights against it, but she soon realized giving in and being with the men is inevitable. She realizes soon enough that she will never buy her way out. She is approached by an American who is trying to get her to come to America. She refuses to go because she is told by the others that the Americans are worse and won't treat her as well.

This wasn't an easy book to read, but it was beautifully written and the reader will learn about something they probably know nothing about. Unlike Cut, this book is written like poetry, not in prose. The short sections work for this particular story. Highly recommended.

Being Bindy ***

2006-10-10T19:12:00.000-04:00

Brugman, Alyssa. Being Bindy. 2004.

This book was just released in the US with a different cover.

Bindy is in 8th grade and things start to change. Her best friend Janey was like a sister to her, always spending lots of time over at her house. Now, she has started hanging out with Hannah. Now Janey has started to dress and act differently. Eventually, she drops Janey altogether. Then, Bindy's father and Janey's mother start to date. Together, the girls agree they have to break them up because they don't want to end up being sisters, but it is really more Janey's idea and it sort of falls apart anyway. Meanwhile, Bindy is trying to navigate HS without friends and also her relationship with her distant mother.

I recommend this book for a middle school audience or perhaps 9th grade in HS. The characters are younger and act like it so older teens would't enjoy reading it.

Homefront ****

2006-10-08T14:55:00.000-04:00

Gwaltney, Doris. Homefront. 2006.

It is 1941 and Margaret Ann's life is throw into a tailspin. Her sister Elizabeth leaves for college, and Margaret Ann is excited because now she can have Elizabeth's room instead of sharing a room with her cantankerous Grandmother. Out of nowhere, her Aunt and cousin Courtney move in and take her room away from her. They had fled from England because of WWII. Before long, everyone is nice to her and she seems to get all the attention. Her friends and her boyfriend like Courtney more than they like her. This makes Margaret Ann hate Courtney and treat her badly. Elizabeth ends up coming home and marrying her boyfriend Tommy and is soon pregnant. Then Courtney's father is declared Missing in Action. It seems that WWII is changing everything.

I know most people don't like Historical Fiction, so I know this review will fall on deaf ears so to speak. Still, this was a great book, filled with wonderful characters. Margaret Ann is really strong willed and, since she is the narrator, it makes the story interesting. Highly recommended for teens that enjoy historical fiction.

Bass Ackwards and Belly Up ****

2006-10-07T18:43:00.000-04:00

Craft, Elizabeth and Sarah Fain. Bass Ackwards and Belly Up. 2006.

This is basically a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants rip-off.

A week before college starts, four friends decide to change their college plans in order to pursue their dreams. Instead of staying in Boulder like she had planned, Sophie goes off the LA to pursue acting. Kate, who is a high achiever, decides to give up on Harvard and travel around Europe. Harper, who has been hiding the fact that she was actually rejected by NYU, was still planning to to go to NY. She decides to stay at home and write the Great American Novel. Becca does go to college to escape her dysfuctional family. The story alternates between each character as they each pursue their dreams and figure out what they want from life.

Fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants will, of course, enjoy this book, because it is practically the same story. It's a great story about life and following one's dreams. The only annoying part is that each of their stories involves a guy, and those guys seem to help the girls along on their self-discovery. I sort of wish they could have gotten there on their own, but that's just a small quibble. Great choice for advanced teen readers.

No Right Turn ***1/2

2006-10-05T14:16:00.000-04:00

Trueman, Terry. No Right Turn. 2005.

Three years prior, Jordan was home alone when his father shot himself to death. Now, three years later, he has shut himself off emotionally and only has one friend. His mother has started datting Don, a guy down the street. Jordan isn't happy about it, but he does start to bond with Don over his Corvette Stingray. Because Don is on the road a lot for work, Jordan starts stealin the stingray to impress a girl, which seems to work pretty well. Of course, we all know it's just a matter of time before Jordan gets caught.

I think this book will please male readers. It's not as well written as his previous novels such as Stuck in Neutral, but it was still interesting and worth reading nonetheless.

Rash ****

2006-09-30T11:26:00.000-04:00

Hautman, Pete. Rash. 2006.

This book is different than Hautman's other books in that it takes place in the future. Bo lives in the USSA (formerly the USA). Now everything is illegal. You can't do anything that might be harmful to yourself, such as play football. No one is allowed to be mean to anyone else, and everyone is medicated. Much of society is incarcerated because everything is illegal. The jails are work camps where all of the factory work is done, such as making frozen pizzas, and de-heading shrimp. Bo ends up in one of these work camps for doing nothing that the average teenager today doesn't already do. He ends up in the far north of Canada in a camp surrouned by hungry polar bears. Bo ends up on an illegal football team that competes with other workcams. Bo continues to talk with his Robot with a futuristic version of a computer or Palm Pilot.

This isn't science fiction, it is speculative fiction. It is a view of what the world may turn into in a hundred years if we continue on the same path we are on right now, with every aspect of our lives being legislated. Readers that like to think about what life will be like down the road might enjoy this book. A casual reader would probably not be interested, but more advanced readers might really get somethign out of it.

Confessions of a Hollywood Star *** 1/2

2006-09-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

Sheldon, Dyan. Confessions of a Hollywood Star. 2005.

This is the sequel to the popular Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, which was also made into an equally popular movie.

Lola Cep wants to be a famous stage actress, and thinks LA and the movies aren't as classy or worthwhile. However, once she finds out that a movie will be filmed in her town that summer, she makes it her goal to get a part, even if it is just as an extra. She goes to extraordinary lengths, including getting a job as a maid in the hotel where the cast & crew are staying so she can talk to them into giving her a part.

Lola is very persistent and she doesnt' really listen to anyone. She is very witty and readers will be easily amused by her antics.

Raiders Night ****

2006-09-25T19:04:00.000-04:00

Lipsyte, Robert. Raiders Night. 2006.

I was excited to see this book from the author of great books like The Contender. This novels surrounds a football team during the season. Matt and many of the players take steroids. In fact, Matt takes other drugs, too, including Vicodin for pain and Ambien to sleep. Matt faces a lot of pressure from home because his father pushes him really hard in athletics. He cheats on his girlfriend and starts to see another girl.

Problems begin for the football team when a new kid moves to town and thinks he is going to make Varsity. The Captain, Rush, feels threatened. At the final night of the pre-season camp, Rush takes the initiation of new players too far by shoving a plastic bat up the new kid's butt, causing him to bleed, and the urinating in his mouth. The seniors keep the mouths shut about the incident but the team really starts to fall apart and the players know it isn't right to keep quiet, especially when Chris stops coming to school and practice. Finally, things come to a head and the boys have to decide what a real Raider would do.

This was a great novel for fans of sports novels. Any student interested in football would enjoy this book a lot. The book felt realistic and as if this story could happen in any HS in America. Highly recommended.

Miracle's Boys ****

2006-09-22T14:58:00.000-04:00

Woodson, Jacqueline. Miracle's Boys. 2000.

I decided to re-read this book after enjoying the first time I read it, right after it was first published. This is probably more of a middle school title, but I believe it is also appropriate for YAs.

Told from the perspective of the youngest son, Lafayette, he details life after his parents have died, leaving him and his three brothers alone. The older brother, Ty'ree, gave up his plans of going to college to take care of his brothers. The middle brother, Charlie, has been in juvenile detention for two years and has just gotten out. He blames Lafayette for the death even though it isn't his fault. Charlie gets involved with Aaron, a young gang member, and it seems that he is on the brink of breaking his probation and being sent to prison for good.

This book would be appropriate for middle and high school students. It might be of particular interest to students living in an urban environment.

Tenderness ****

2006-09-21T15:59:00.000-04:00

Cormier, Robert. Tenderness. 1997.

I always describe this book as "a serial killer novel" which I think is pretty accurate. It follows three different characters. The first is Eric Poole. Eric was in juvenile detention for killing his mother and father. Before that, he had killed three young girls, but the police have been unable to link him to the murders. Now, he is about to be released and he is currently fixated on one of the female inmates who is also about to be released. Another character is the Police officer that is desperate to catch him killing someone else, as he knows he is a serial killer and will try it again. The final character is Lori. She has run away from home and has become obsessed with Eric. All she wants to do is be near him and kiss him.

We can tell right from the beginning that Lori is going to be with Eric and we just know he is going to try to kill her. This gives the reader a lot of suspense and really keeps the reader interested. Readers who enjoy suspense will enjoy this book tremendously.

How to Be Popular ****

2006-09-15T18:21:00.000-04:00

Cabot, Meg. How to Be Popular 2006.

Fans off Cabot's Princess Diaries series will also enjoy this book. The narrator, Steph Landry, is in love with Mark, the HS quarterback and class President. She realizes that she needs to become popular to get him to like her. She finds an old book in the attic that teaches the reader to be popular. She follows the guidelines and does, in fact, get into the popular crowd. Things go awry (obviously, or there wouldn't be a point to the book!). Mark's girlfriend Lauren doesn't take kindly to Mark's attentions toward Steph and starts sending her hate email. At the same time, Steph's friend Becca is in love with their mutual friend Jason, and keeps begging Steph to find out if he likes her.

This was a really cute book. The main character is less neurotic than Princess Mia, but she is still pretty funny. Recommended for anyone that enjoys some great chic lit.

Copper Sun *****

2006-08-14T18:47:00.000-04:00

Draper, Sharon. Copper Sun. 2006.

I have enjoyed other works by this author such as Forged by Fire, Darkness Before Dawn, Romiette and Julio and so on. I don't think I have read anything by this author I have disliked. When I saw she had a new book out and that it had received a starred review in School Library Journal, I was excited to get my hands on a copy. I put it on reserve at my public library at the beginning of summer and it just now came in. So, either someone had it for a really long time, or it has been popular!

This book is about the slave experience in the late 1700s. Amari is 15 and is living a happy life in Africa until her entire village is destroyed by white men and the neighboring Ashanti. All of the older people are killed and the younger ones are marched to the coast where they are shipped off to the American colonies. She arrives in America and is sold to Derby Farms where she has a master that is worse than most. She is really the birthday present for the 16 year old son, and he uses her for sex. In between section about Amari are sections about Polly, a white girl that comes to the farm at the same time as an indentured servant. Her indenture is 14 years but she thinks at the end of it, she will become a lady. She hates slaves and thinks she is far better than them even though she works side by side with them and have to also live in slave quarters.

This was a great account of life as a slave and the desire to be free. Unlike many, Amari's spirit was never broken and she yearned to be free and fight for it. This account was interesting in that it not only looked at Amari's experience but it also looked at Polly's perspective too, in turn, so that readers could get a feeling for what white people thought of the slaves, not just what it was like to be a slave. This was a very well written novel and I recommend it for all readers. It is not only a moving book, but readers will also learn something, which is always nice bonus.

How I Live Now ****

2006-08-13T11:30:00.000-04:00

Rosoff, Meg. How I Live Now. 2004.

This was a well written book about a girl, Daisy, that decides to get away from her father and evil step mother by going to stay with her aunt and her children in England. She is immediately accepted into the family. She begins to have a mental connection with Edmond, her cousin, and can read his mind and vice versa. They begin to have a physical relationship. Then Aunt Penn goes off to Oslo for a business trip and the war begins. Aunt Penn is stranded in Norway and the children are left alone. Eventually, their house is taken over by the army. Daisy is sent with Piper to live in the county while the others are sent to another farm, far away.

The story is about survival and love. While I enjoyed the book, there is a major ewww factor here because she not only falls in love with her cousin, but she has sex with him many times. I felt that was odd and sort of inappropriate, especially since no one else in the book seemed to have a problem with it either. But, other than that, it was a great novel and certainly well worth reading. It also won the Printz Award, so you know it has to be good!

How I Paid for College *****

2006-08-06T22:40:00.000-04:00

Acito, Marc. How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theatre. 2004.

This is an adult book appropriate for YAs. It received a lot of acclaim, including being voted one of the Top 10 Novels for Teens by students for the American Library Association.

This novel takes place in the 1980s. Not only is it the 80s, but Edward and his friends are theatre kids, so they are somewhat, uhm, theatric. Anyway, Edward's dream is to attend Julliard and become an actor. After his father suddenly marries someone, he changes his mind and says he will only pay for college if Edward will major in business. Majoring in business is the worst thing Edward can think of. Luckily, he has a year to raise the $10,000 he needs to pay for freshman year. He resorts to working, stealing, and blackmail. Meanwhile, his group of friends are coming of age and experimenting with sex.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a funny book, because this one is hilarious. The protagonist is hysterical and his outlook on things will leave you in stitches. One of the blurbs on the back of the book stated it would be a great graduation present, and I have to agree with that. It's a great book for any senior, really, as they go through the struggles of applying for, and figuring out how they are going to pay for, college.

Born to Rock ****

2006-08-05T14:49:00.000-04:00

Korman, Gordon. Born to Rock 2006.

This is a great novel that will probably appeal most to boys.

Leo is a bit of a stuffed shirt and he is the President of the Young Republicans at school. He is headed to Harvard in the Fall on a scholarship, but due to a misundestanding, he is accused to cheating on a test. He is still able to go to school there but he has lost his scholarship. Without the scholarship, he simply can't afford to go.

Then Leo figures out a way to go to school. He has always known the name of his biological father, but he didn't realize that his father was a famous (and rich!) punk artist from the 80s. The inlikely happens and Marion X Murphy a.k.a. King Maggot invites Leo along on their summer tour as a roadie. Along the way there is some behind the scenes stuff including sex and drugs and backstabbing while Leo tries to get to know his father and then finagle $40,000 out of him.

Male readers will enjoy the story because of the whole subplot of following the band around all summer. Highly recommended.

Secrets of my Hollywood Life ****

2006-07-30T15:45:00.000-04:00

Calonita, Jen. Secrets of My Hollywood Life. 2006.

This was frivolous chic lit, but so entertaining. Kaitlin is a big teenage star on a night-time soap opera. One of her co-stars hates her and is trying to sabotage her. She is totally stressed out and needs to relax, but her manger (her mother) and her agent are on her to work work work on her hiatus. She decides she wants to know what real life is like for normal teens, so she dresses in disguise and enrolls in a private school where her friend Liz goes to school. We all know that things are going to go awry, and they certainly do.

This book was very entertaining and enjoyable. I highly recommend it to female fans of chic lit. I also love the cover design--it looks like a Louis Vuitton journal--very cool. Highly recommended.

Lost and Found ****

2006-07-29T17:57:00.000-04:00

Parkhurst, Carolyn. Lost and Found. 2006.

This is an adult book appropriate for YAs.

Do you enjoy reality tv? If so, you will love this book. This book follows the characters in a scavenger hunt around the world called Lost and Found. The chapters alternate between some of the characters so the reader gets inside a lot of the characters, not just one. Some of the characeters include a mother and daughter trying to mend their battered relationship, two former child stars trying to become stars again, and two formerly gay people that have found Jesus and are no longer gay, or so they claim. Reading this book is like watching a reality show. There is a lot of drama and comedy to keep readers interested and wondering what will happen next.

An Abundance of Katherines **** 1/2

2006-07-26T15:52:00.000-04:00

Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. 2006.

Ah, the joy of advanced reader copies. I have a small collection of ARCs from Penguin Putnam and will be reviewing them here, before they are published. Yippee!! This book should be available in September. If Amazon.com is to be trusted, September 21 to be exact.

Anyway, John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska was awesome (see review on this blog, 12/16/05). It received starred reviews and then went on to win the Printz Award this January. I am always scared that a second book by an author will disappoint, probably because so many of them do. This one certainly d0esn't disappoint. It is totally different than Alaska, but it is still fabulous.

Colin is really too smart for his own good. He is a washed up child prodigy. He is also socially awkward-- the kid that everyone thinks is weird because he is fascinated with the most boring of topics. He has just been dumped by his 19th girlfriend, all of whom were named Katherine. Colin, who has just graduated high school, sets off on a road trip with his only friend Hassan. They don't really get very far. They take a side-trip to see the grave of Archduke Ferdinand in Gunshot, Tennessee and end up staying after the befriend a local teen that gives the tours at the grave. As he is still trying to get over his most recent dumping by a Katherine, Colin begins to think that there is a mathematical equation he can create that would predict how long a relationship will last, and he uses his experiences with the Katherines to figure it all out.

Don't let the math scare you away. After the first few chapters I got scared because, frankly I am a math moron, and I was afraid I wasn't going to "get it" if I continued on. The math is a small part of the book and you don't need to really understand it to follow the book. The book isn't about math anyway-- it's about Colin and Hassan and growing up. I highly recommend this book to all readers. And, if you haven't read Looking for Alaska yet, you need to read that one too, because both of these books are fantastic.

You can visit the author's web page and blog at http://www.sparksflyup.com

Speak ****1/2

2006-07-25T20:44:00.000-04:00

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. 1999.

I loved this book so much the first time I read it that I decided to read it again.

At the beginning of the novel, we aren't sure what happened, but something happened to Melinda at a party just before school starts. She called 911 at a party which caused the cops to break it up. Now everyone hates her and none of her friends will talk to her. She has a hard time adjusting to school. Her grades start to slip and she starts cutting class and school. Her parents are distant and don't pay much attention to her at all. She makes a friend with a new girl, but she soon dumps her when she gets accepted into a new group in school. Her only bright spot in life is art class with Mr. Freeman.

This is an awesome book. Told from the first person point of view, we feel like we are inside Melinda's head. Everything unfolds in such a wonderful way. Melinda is smart and observant. She is a great character and the reader will want the best for her and for the pain to go away.

Fans of the book should also seek out the movie by the same name. It sometimes appears on various cable channels including Lifetime. Anderson has also written other great titles worth looking for such as Fever 1793 and Prom (also reviewed on this blog earlier this year).

Just Listen *****

2006-07-15T18:39:00.000-04:00

Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen. 2006.

LOVED IT. LOVED IT. LOVED IT. Of course, I have loved everything Sarah Dessen has written so far.

After an incident at a party, Annabel's best friend Sophie dumps her and turns the whole school against her. Now that school has started up, she sits alone at lunch but eventually strikes up a friendship with a guy at school that was previously arrested for anger problems and has just returned to school. She also has a hard time telling the truth because she doesn't want to hurt people. She continues modeling even though she doesn't want to because she is afraid to hurt her mother's feelings. She is afraid to tell her family about what happened at the party because it will upset them all, and she doesn't want to take the spotlight off her sister Whitney who is suffering from an eating disorder. Her friendship with Owen starts to help her see that all of the lying and covering up of her feelings is really just hurting her.

I highly recommend this book. While she is flawed, Annabel is very likable and sympathetic. The reader will hope that she resolves her problems and that her family will stay intact. Highly recommended for all female readers. This book is rather long, but well worth the time. Readers should also go back and read her previous novels as they are also gems!

The Book Thief *****

2006-07-07T21:35:00.000-04:00

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. 2006.

This book received a starred review in School Library Journal and does deserve this distiction.

This book is narrated by Death. The story takes place in Nazi Germany. Leisel is essentially abandoned by her mother, and lives with foster family near Munich. She is taken care of by them, but she does miss her mother. She learns to love books even though she doesn't have any. She begins her life of crime so that she can steal books so she has something to read. Leisel's family is not a member of the Nazi party. They even hide a Jew in their basement, and he is never detected by some miracle. Essentially, this story is about WWII and the struggles everyone endured during that time.

This was a very long book-- over 500 pages. There is a signifant time committment here, but it is totally worth it. The story is compelling, and even though we all know about WWII, it is still interesting to hear about one individual's experiences.My only quibble with this book, much like I am the Messenger is that they aren't YA books. They are certainly appropriate for YAs, but they are definitely not YA books. They are most definitely adult books. But, whatever. Highly recommended for advanced YA readers interested in WWII or historical fiction.

Endgame **** 1/2

2006-07-05T15:53:00.001-04:00

Garden, Nancy. Endgame. 2006.

This book received a starred review in School Library Journal, so I had to read it, of course! When I realized it was a school shooting novel, I sort of sighed, because that is the trend now, to do novels about a school shooting. Something can be learned from reading these books, though.

Gray and his family have just moved to a new town. The reason was pretty much because of Gray. He had been getting into trouble at his previous school and was suspended twice for bringing weapons in to school. He was bullied mercilessly, and he didn't know what else to do. He wants things to be new at this new school, but things go downhill quickly.

Peter, Gray's older brother is the super kid, and his parents seem to favor him, particularly his father. The father doesn't even like Gray and doesn't take an interest in him and his activities at all. He does make a friend at school, Ross. Immediately, a popular jock Zorro decides to torture Gray and Ross. They can't get through a day without being harassed, beaten up, and worse. Teachers turn a blind eye and other students do nothing to help. Finally, Gray takes him father's gun in to school to get revenge against Zorro, but others get in the way of the crossfire. Now he is in the juvenile detention center on trial for murder and attempted murder.

This was a great novel. If only a few kids in each school would read this, it could make life better for even just one kid. It will hopefully encourage kids to come forward and defend those that are being teased, or to go to authorities for help before things get to this point. If the reader is like Gray, it will convince them that revenge like this isn't the way to go about things, and that getting help is important. This is a great choice for any reader.

The New Rules of High School ***1/2

2006-07-04T11:05:00.000-04:00

Nelson, Blake. The New Rules of High School. 2003.

This book was just OK. The main character, Max, is wound so tight, he's lucky doesn't explode. He decides to break up with his girlfriend Cindi for no real reason, which leaves him really sad. He is the new editor-in-chief of the school paper, and this gives him added stress. Then this girl Lydia starts to obsess over him, and sort of stalk him. He is totally stressed and, eventually, starts to unravel.

The problem I have with this book is that things don't seem to come together right. He doesn't like Lydia, and she is really crazy, yet he begins to strike up a friendship with her. His friends start getting into fights for no apparent reason. He also seems to be in total control and starts to lose it inexplicably toward the end. He should have been showing signs of losing it all along; perhaps I just missed it, I don't know. And then there is the annoying way he talks about people, often using their last names for no reason whatsoever. He would refer to his friend Bob as "Bob Hollins" all the time. It was annoying after awhile. It's not like there were multiple Bobs in the book.

This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't great either. Read something else. I much prefered Rock Star SuperStar by this author.

A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl *****

2006-06-27T22:24:00.000-04:00

Stone, Tanya Lee. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl. 2006.

This is another novel told in verse, so if you aren't a fan, stop reading now.

This story follows three girls that all get taken in by the same guy. He is charismatic and all of the girls get taken in. First, we hear from Josie. She is a Freshman and the reason he dumps her after awhile is because she refuses to sleep with him. She is a reader and the situation makes her think of the book Forever by Judy Blume. She takes the school's copy and writes a warning to all of the girls in the school. She then tells everyone, including his new conquest, to go read the book. He proceeds to use two more girls, Nicolette and Aviva.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think it sends a good message-- beware of who you fall for. Ultimately, all of these girls learn a lot from their experience of falling for a bad boy. I can bet that none of the three girls in the story would ever fall for another guy like him again. This is highly recommended for high school girls-- I think they will learn something from it. There are a few sex scenes, but they are not at all graphic. I thought I would mention that since some people are sensitive to that. Go read this book now!

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie *****

2006-06-26T16:31:00.000-04:00

Lubar, David. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie. 2005.

This was a great book. Told from the first person point of view, Scott details his first year of high school. He finds himself in all college prep/honors courses while his three best friends end up someplace else. The inevitable happens-- as the year progresses, he loses his friends. He can't seem to shake Mouth, this dorky kid on his bus stop that doesn't know how and when to shut up. He is in love with Julia, but she doesn't know he exists. Oh, and his mother is pregnant.

Scott tries to join a bunch of clubs and activities so that he can have an excuse to be around Julia, who starts to date the football quarterback. He joins the school paper to be around her, but he ends up having to write the sports columns even though he is the least athletic person he knows. He befriends a new girl at school who is a little weird.

Scott has a great sense of humor. He tells us about his Freshman year with honesty and wit. He also puts in letters to his unborn brother throughout, giving him tips on navigating through life. Very funny and well written. Recommended for all readers, including reluctant readers.

Sloppy Firsts *****

2006-05-24T19:40:00.000-04:00

McCafferty, Megan. Sloppy Firsts. 2001.

I am so glad I read this book again. I decided to read it again after that Harvard chic plagiarized from it.

This is great YA lit. It is not only entertaining but it is intelligent. Jessica is a smart honor student. In her diary entries, she details her life after her best friend Hope moves away and she is left hanging out with the rest of her friends, whom she has discovered that she doesn't really like.

She is in love with Pau, who has no idea she exists. Her best male friend Scott wants more, but she doesn't. She starts an odd friendship with Marcus, a burn-out. Her sister is getting married. Her mother doesn't seem to like her very much. Her father only cares about her when she is doing well at track. She misses Hope and hates her friends. A new girl, Hy, moves to town and becomes friends with Jessica and her friends. Jessica hopes Hy might replace Hope, but then she feels sorry for trying to replace Hope. Then Hy backs off and disappears altogether.

Each diary entry is witty and wonderful. I was so sad to see the book end because I love this character and wanted to see what comes next. I recommend this book to every teen girl out there. I can't see any reader being disappointed.

Luckily, there are 2 sequels to this wonderful book. Sadly, some kid has the sequel checked out (darn it!) and I haven't bought the third book yet. I have to get on that right away!

How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life / Unrated with Rant

2006-05-20T06:51:00.000-04:00

Viswanathan, Kaavya. How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. 2006.

Opal's dream has been to go to Harvard. Everything she has done has been to get into Harvard, which includes joining a million clubs, doing community service, and taking all AP classes. She goes on her Harvard early decision interview and she doesn't know what to say when the interviewer asks her what she likes to do for fun. He tells her basically to get a life and reapply for regular admissions.

Like she does with everything else, she decides to get a life, if that's what it takes to get into Harvard. Her parents also get involved, buying her every fashion magazine available, renting all of the latest videos, TiVoing hit TV shows, getting her a new haircut, make-up, etc. Her parents go so far as to go away and let her have a kegger in her house. As we already know from the beginning, she is going to get popular, get kissed, and get wild, but she isn't going to like it, and eventually it will go awry. And it does.

Can I recommend this book? No. Why? After it was plagiarized, it was discovered by some astute readers that it was, in fact, plagiarized. There are entire sections taken directly from Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty. Some sections are copied word-for-word and in some places the words are changed a little. Her works also mirror the works of other authors such as Meg Cabot although no side-by-side comparisons have been made with any other authors. The book was subsequently pulled from all bookstores. The publisher had said that they were going to revise the book and re-release it, but they have since changed their mind on that.

The author wasn't helping her case when she first claimed she had never even read the work of McCafferty. Then in another interview she claimed the book moved her so much that she must have internalized certain passages and that was why she ended up using them in her book. Huh? I read a lot, but I have never memorized entire sentences or sections of a book! And, if I did, I would think I would have remembered that I had.

This girl, a sophomore at Harvard, is now a bit of a disgrace. If her goal was to be an author, she blew it. She will never be able to publish anything anywhere again. No place would take the risk of plagiarism lawsuits. Right now she is lucky that Megan McCafferty has said she doesn't plan to sue. The publisher will probably take away her advance. I hope she didn't spend it!

If you want to read this book, you will have to get it used on Amazon since bookstores have pulled it. Some libraries still have it, although I am sure they will pull the books from their collections too, once they get returned. I only read it to see the comparison between the books. While I enjoyed the book, it is tarnished from this scandal. I think HS seniors going through the application process would enjoy the book because it is amusing, but it is hard to get past the plagiarism thing.

Moon Over Manhattan **

2006-05-11T20:34:00.000-04:00

King, Larry and Thomas H. Cook. Moon Over Manhattan: A Novel of Mystery and Mayhem. New York: Plume 2004.

This is an adult book appropriate for YAs.

I didn't like this book one bit. There were some funny parts, but there wasn't enough good stuff to override the fact that this book had no point really.

Allison Vandemeer is the daughter of Arthur, a popular TV talk show host that is very liberal. She is dating Goonie, a poor, uneducated Hispanic boy with the IQ of a flee. She isn't into him that much but she wants to use him. She needs him to get her rather to let her go to film school at UCLA. She decides to write a fake note about eloping with Goonie to get her father upset. She figures after she comes home in a few days, he will be so happy she is home and not married to Goonie, that he will let her go to UCLA to get her away from Goonie. Anyway, things don't go right and mayhem ensues.

The story takes place in NYC. The characters are all varied. Some are interesting but none are really sympathetic characters-- they are all majorly flawed people with few redeeming qualities. I didn't really care what happened to any of them. At the end I thought to myself, "So what?" To sum up, don't read this book. Whomever reviewed this in SLJ and told school librarians to buy this is crazy. I can't imagine high school students reading this book at all.

Soldier's Heart ****

2006-04-30T17:41:00.000-04:00

Paulsen, Gary. Soldier's Heart: The Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesotta Volunteers: A Novel of the Civil War. 1998.

This book should be popular for anyone looking for a short book. While the intended audience is middle school, a high school student interested in the subject matter would also enjoy it.

Charley joins up in the Civil War despite the fact that he is only 15. He is trained and shipped out to War. He sees many battles and amazingly manages to stay alive. The novel focuses on particular battles such as Bull Run and Gettysburg and explains them pretty well. After reading the novel, the reader should have a better understanding of the Civil War and what it was like to be in battle.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys historical fiction, particularly war stories. While many historical novels about war detail life at home, this one tells what life was like for the soldier fighting the war. While there is a good bit of death, the deaths are dealt with without any gory detail so readers will not feel uncomfortable reading it.

At First Sight ****

2006-04-18T21:27:00.000-04:00

Sparks, Nicholas. At First Sight. New York: Warner, 2005.

This is an adult book appropriate for YAs.

Jeremy lives in NYC and makes his living writing a column for Scientific American and various other freelance jobs. He meets Lexie while researching one of his articles. He falls in love with her at first sight. Crazily, he proposes to her within weeks. He gives up his life in NY and moves to rural North Carolina to be with her. They buy a house and plans for their life together. She is also pregnant, but they had fallen in love before that. Their relationship is somewhat rocky before they walk down the aisle, fraught with misunderstandings and silly arguments. You wonder if they will ever make it down the aisle.

In typical Sparks fashion, the book will lead you to inevitable tears. For anyone unfamiliar with Sparks, his books are basically emotional romance novels. Sparks isn't for everyone. Only those that like romance and emotional books should bother with this one.

The Perfect Shot ****1/2

2006-04-15T23:06:00.000-04:00

Alphin, Elaine Marie. The Perfect Shot. Minneapolis: CarolRhoda, 2005.

This is a great book for lovers of mystery and suspense.

The previous year, Brian's girlfriend, Amanda, her brother, and mother are all shot to death in their garage. At the time, Brian is in the cul-de-sac playing basketball but didn't see anything. Now, a year later, her father is on trial for their murder, but Brian isn't convinced he did it as he recalls something that did happen that day that might prove his innocence.

Meanwhile, Brian is in the middle of a basketball season. His friend Julius is arrested and roughed up by the cops after getting lost in a white neighborhood. All of the basketball players are also paired up with people in history class to learn about certain events in history and give a presentation on whether or not we have learned from history. Brian has to work with dorky Todd who ends up being a good partner. They have to research a trial of a man wrongfully convicted of murder and report on whether or not we have learned from faulty police investigation and prosectution.

It is somewhat hard to believe that all of these events happen to be be occurring at the same time-- the trial, the assignment, and Julius' wrongful arrest. Still, without all of these coincidences, there wouldn't be a novel! I recommend this novel to anyone that enjoys suspense and mystery stories. This is a long book so a casual reader would probably not want to read it. Also, while there is basketball theme, this isn't a basketball novel, so fans of sports fiction may not like it. There isn't much court action going on here.

Double Helix ****1/2

2006-04-09T21:24:00.000-04:00

Werlin, Nancy. Double Helix. New York: Dial, 2004.

This book received a starred review in SLJ. I have to agree that this was quite a good book. I have to say, however, that I was expecting something different. Because of the title and cover, I expected a medical/scientific type thriller. While it was, I wasn't expecting as much characterization. The book goes into the characters' emotions and motivations. The story was less about genetics and more about the characters.

Eli lives with his father in Cambridge. He is about the graduate HS but is putting off college for a year, despite being salutatorian. He has a strained relationship with his father. His mother is in a nursing home with Huntington's Disease and is dying. He has been dating Viv for a year, yet she has never met his father and has no idea his mother is dying. Eli gets a job working at a lab with the mysterious Dr. Wyatt, who has a connection with his family, but he doesn't know what that is. Eli's father begs him to not work there, but refuses to tell him why he doesn't want him around this Dr. Wyatt.

Things come to a head all at once. Eli breaks up with Viv and his relationship with his father becomes even more strained. Eli starts to put pieces together after his mother dies which leads to him trying to figure out what the mystery is at the lab that it is clear his father and Dr. Wyatt are both trying to hide.

Highly recommended to fans of suspense and science/medical themed fiction.

Heroes ****

2006-04-06T11:40:00.000-04:00

Cormier, Robert. Heroes. New York: Laurel Leaf, 1998.

I enjoyed this book when I first read it, so I decided to read it again to refresh my memory of the plot and characters. This book alternates between the present and the past. In the present, Francis is a veteran, just returning from WWII. He had stepped on a grenade and blown much of his face off; therefore, he must wear a scarf and this leaves him unrecognizable. His goal is to get revenge on Larry LaSalle, who raped the girl he loved before also shipping off to War. In the past, we see Francis meeting and falling in love with Nicole. The neighborhood Rec center opens with Larry as the head, teaching the guiding the youth of the community. And, then, Larry raping Nicole one night while home on leave from the Army.

You have to feel sorry for Francis. His parents are dead. He never got the girl he was in love with, and he didn't reall y have much in the way of self esteem and friends. He comes home to see Nicole and she and her family has disappeared. He doesn't have a face. It's all very sad. The novel is gripping and you really get inside Francis' head. This novel is also short, so it might be a good choice for a reluctant reader although it should be noted that this novel is less plot-driven and more character-driven, so it might turn some reluctant readers off. Overall, a good choice for all readers.

Push ****1/2

2006-03-26T11:39:00.000-05:00

Sapphire. Push. New York: Vintage, 1996.

This is an adult book, and isn't for the squeemish. Those that are offended by strong language and those that may feel uncomfortable reading about incest should avoid this book. It's not for everyone.

Precious is a 16 year-old living in Harlem. She is pregnant with her second child. Her first child was born when she was just 12 and has Down's Syndrome. Both children are the product of an incestuous relationship between Precious and her father, who has been raping her. Precious likes school and learning, but she is illiterate. A caring administrator at her school gets her into an alternative school where she is able to learn and eventually get into the GED program. After the birth of her baby, Precious must leave her home after her mother tries to kill her. This leaves her without housing. Despite her problems, she still aims to keep up her education.

This book is told from the perspective of Precious. As the book progresses, her spelling and grammar improves. She goes from spelling phonetically and leaving out many vowels to being able to spell far better; not perfect, but far better.

Precious, due to her background I suppose, does use a lot of coarse language (that's a nice way of saying she curses a lot!). However, the language is true to how such a girl would speak. In fact, she probably doesn't even realize that many of the words are even considered curses since she hears this language every day, all day. She is simply speaking the only way she knows how. The language and content may seem objectionable; however, it is necessary to tell the story the way it needs to be told. This is a story about a girl with a hard life, and from a hard place where things aren't "proper". The book shows how hard Precious is willing to work to make herself a better person. It leaves us feeling a sense of hope that even people living in the worst of conditions and situations can thrive and improve themselves.

Wrecked ****1/2

2006-03-19T13:56:00.000-05:00

Frank, E.R. Wrecked. New York: Antheneum, 2005.

Another great book from this great author! On her way back from a party, Anna gets into a car accident. She has been drinking hours prior, but was not drunk. Also, the accident wasn't her fault-the other car went over the line and smashed into her car. Anna's best friend Ellen is badly hurt in the accident. Worse, the driver of the other car dies. Even worse yet, the driver happens to have been the girlfriend of Anna's brother, Jack.

No one blames Anna for what happened, including Jack, but that doesn't stop her from blaming herself. She begins to have panic attacks and is no longer able to drive. Her father, who is a bit controlling, doesn't want her daughter in therapy. Eventually, she does go to therapy and starts to learn to handle her panic attacks and get on with her life.

Her father, who could use some therapy himself, starts to change a bit after the accident, but he is still a control freak and a bit of a jerk, which really just adds to Anna's anxiety. The entire family really needs to heel after this incident.

This was a great book about anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. Anyone that experiences anxiety or knows someone that does would appreciate this book. This is a great choice for most readers, as it is fast paced and enjoyable.

I am the Messenger ****

2006-03-16T19:25:00.000-05:00

Zusak, Markus. I am the Messenger. New York: Knopf, 2002/2005. Originally published in Australia in 2002, published in the US in 2005.

I don't know that this book has broad appeal, but it was an interesting book, thus the four stars.

Ed is basically a loser. He graduated high school and is more or less just drifting along with no real goals or aspirations. His friends are all just like him. They play cards and drink for fun (it's legal there to drink under 21!) and have dead end jobs.

One day he gets a playing card and it has three addresses on it. He goes to those addresses and realizes there are things there for him to do. So, he does them. He thinks it is over, but he gets another playing card and has more things to do. This goes on for 3 playing cards, at which point he figures he is done. In each case he has to do something for someone else without giving any thought to himself. Throughout the entire thing, he has no idea who is sending him the cards and why they chose him.

There is also a love interest in the story (isn't there always?). Ed loves his friend Audrey but she is always dating someone else. He thinks she loves him too but she won't let herself love anyone because of a hard childhood. The love story adds another dimention to the plot.

The plot is, of course, ludicrous as this would never happen in a million years. But, it was entertaining nonetheles. It is entertaining to see what he will have to do next, and to see how the experiences make him grow as a person.

The Bad Mother's Handbook ****

2006-02-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

Long, Kate. The Bad Mother's Handbook. New York: Ballantine, 2004.

This is an adult book appropriate for YAs.

This is an interesting story, told from the perspective of three related woman. The first, Nan, is old and has dementia. She is always setting things on fire and losing things. The other woman is her adopted daughter, Karen. Karen is stressed out. She works part time at a school, she has to take care of her demented mother, and her teenage daughter is a pain in the butt. Her ex hasn't been involved in her child's life. She is still young, but hasn't really lived life-- she had her daughter Charlotte when she was a teenager. All Karen wants really is a life. Charlotte, her teenage daughter finds herself pregnant and with no boyfriend since he dumped her and has moved on. She finds herself in love with dorky Daniel as the novel progresses. Meanwhile, Karen begins a search for her birth parents.

Overall, this is a good book that would interest most female readers. It is about mothers and daugters and growing up, or growing old. The fact that the book alternates the perspective from one character to another throughout adds to the book so we can see where each character is at all points throughout the books. Great read!

The Schwa was Here *****

2006-02-12T20:20:00.000-05:00

Schusterman, Neal. The Schwa was Here. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2004.

This was a great book. I put off reading this book for so long because I had a bad experience with his last book, Full Tilt, which I do NOT recommend. I disliked that book so much it negated the good feelings I had about the author after reading Downsiders, which I DO recommend.

In this novel, Antsy befriends a kid, Calvin Schwa, who is mostly invisible. Not that he is really invisible, but it seems that no one really sees him most of the time even though he is right there. During a scheme, Antsy and Schwa end up getting caught trying to steal a dog bowl from a local shut in, Crawley. Their punishment involves having to be the man's dog walker for his 14 Afghans. This progress and Crawley decides to switch Antsy's duties to entertaining Crawley's blind granddaugher while she is visiting him for a few months. She ends up falling for Antsy while Schwa ends up falling for her.

Meanwhile, Antsy tries to investigate the disappearance of Schwa's mother. The last he saw her was when he was 5, and she left him abandoned at the grocery store. He also gets involved with the Granddaughter and her plot to try to get her Grandfather out of the apartment.

Antsy is a real funny kid, quite witty and smart. The way he tells his story is entertaining. The story is made more interesting by reading it through his perspective. Even though he isn't the smart kid in his family, he is pretty darn smart. Overall, this is an entertaining read, and is recommended for most readers.

Perfect ****

2006-01-29T11:16:00.000-05:00

Friend, Natasha. Perfect. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed, 2004.

Winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature.

Isabelle's father died a few years back, and since then the family has been a mess. Her mother is unable to get over it, and still cries herself to sleep. Isabelle's way of coping is to make herself throw up.

She must attend weekly Group sessions with other girls with eating disorders. In the Group is Ashley, a popular girl at school. Isabelle starts to become friends with Ashley, and their get togethers involve binging and purging together. As the story progresses, Isabelle starts to get a handle on herself and she also starts to demand that others do the same.

This was a great book, recommended for girls. I would particularly recommend this book to girls with body image issues. This publisher is a non-profit. Their goal, according to information at the back of the book, is to publish "with the intention of making humane impact on society, in the belief that good writing can transform the human heart and spirit." Their books all have a purpose, and that is certainly something worth supporting!

Grind **?

2006-01-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

Walters, Eric. Grind. Custer, WA: Orca, 2004.

I wasn't sure how to determine how many stars to give this book. It isn't a literary masterpiece. There isn't much plot, and there isn't any character development. BUT, that isn't the point of this book. This publisher publishes books geared toward teens that are relutant readers, which would be defined as someone that doesn't like to read. These books are also great for someone that just isn't reading up to their grade level, but still wants to read a book geared toward their age. There are other similar titles by this publisher. I will list them as I get more. These are something that can be recommended to reluctant or struggling readers.

Hit Squad by James Heneghan
Charmed by Carrie Mac
The Troube with Liberty by Kristin Butcher
Fastback Beach vy Shirlee Smith Matheson

Godless **** 1/2

2005-12-19T19:26:00.000-05:00

Hautman, Pete. Godless. New York: Simon Pulse, 2004.

This was a great book. My library doesn't have this book (yet!) but I read it because it was recommended to me by a public library children's/YA librarian. I am glad I read it!

Jason is rather charismatic. He could sell snow to Eskimos. His mother is a hypochondriac and his father is very religious, to the point of obsession. His father is always trying to get him to be religious, including making him go to the teen night at their church. He isn't interested in religion, but he goes to be a pain and ask questions the youth pastor can't answer.

Jason, along with his friend Shin, come up with a new religion, one that reveres the town's water tower. Shin takes it quite seriously, while Jason is just doing it because he thinks it is funny. Joining them in their church is the son of a local preacher, the town bully, and a girl from the church youth group, on whom Jason has a major crush. Their goal is to climb the water tower, which they do; they end up prying open a door and actually swimming in it, which they consider their "Baptism". Shin starts to take things too seriously along with a few other members.

This entire book really is all about religion. Jason is really quite anti-religion, so if you are a person that is really religious, his approach may offend you, so I would read something else. Jason is really not an athiest, he is really just in search of what he believes in. He isn't into Christianity, but that is all he has been exposed to, and he doesn't know anything else. This is really about finding who he is, and a part of that includes finding out what he believes in. This is more of a character study than anything, so anyone that is more interested in plot and action might be disappointed; not that this is boring, but the focus here is on the characters and who they are, and how they change.

Looking for Alaska *****

2005-12-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

Green, John. Looing for Alaska. New York: Dutton, 2005.

*Winner of the Prinz Award, Announced January 23, 2006*

What a fanastic novel. This is a rare instance where I agree that a book that got a starred review in School Library Journal really does deserve that star!

In this book, Miles opts to go to a boarding school in Alabama during his high school years. His roomate, who is nicknamed the Colonel introduces him to the school and his circle of friends, which include Alaska, Lara, and Takumi. They spend their time sneaking off to smoke, drink, and pull pranks on the school and headmaster. We learn rather quickly that Alaska is somewhat troubled. We also realize that something big is coming.

The book's chapters are arranged by days, such as "40 days before" and so on up until "the incident". We don't get to that until 3/4 of the way through the novel, so we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what exactly happens on Day 0. I can tell you that I didn't see it coming! Then after that, the rest of the novel is told as "3 days after" and so on. This format kept me interested and made me aniticipate the climax of the novel even more.

I highly recommend this novel to most readers. It is a rather "deep" read so readers that prefer fluff will not enjoy this one. Not that there is anything wrong with fluff, but if that is what you are looking for, this isn't it. Highly recommended.

Uglies ****

2005-10-16T20:18:00.000-04:00

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005.

I guess this would be considered speculative fiction. Although this isn't a genre that I enjoy, I have to say that I did enjoy this novel.

This novel takes place in the future. Things have changed. When teens turn 16, they go from being Uglies to Pretties. They go through massive plastic surgery to become what society thinks is pretty. Everyone looks forward to being pretty. That is especially true for Tally who is friendless now that her best friend Peris is now a pretty and living in Pretty Town. She meets Shay, who has run away and doesn't want to be pretty. Shay knows of a place where people run away where people want to say Ugly-- The Smoke. She gives Tally directions to find them if she decides to run away.

Tally ends up being taken by the Special Circustances unit, and she is blackmailed. They won't make her pretty unless she tells then where The Smoke is. She doesn't know, so they give her a necklace with a locket on it. They tell her that once she gets there, she should push the button in the locket. Things are complicated because she doesn't want to betray her friend. She also ends up falling in love with Dave, but Shay is in love with Dave-- he is the reason she ran away to begin with.

I won't go into any more details. There is a lot more going on, but I don't want to give any more away. This is also the first book in a trilogy, so readers will be interested to continue on and read the next two books. Highly recommended for anyone wondering what the future could be like. This is a great mix of speculation and adventure/action.