review: Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

pub date: Feb 14, 2012
publisher: Random House Children's Books
pages: 464
source: for review at Kiss the Book
appeals: romance, family, mystery, travel
content: off page sex, swearing

summary:
When 17-year-old Rosie's mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington's Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty percent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when Rosie tells her mother's best friend, "Aunt Sarah," that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie wasn't her real mother after all. Rosie was swapped at birth with a sickly baby who was destined to die.thoughts:


Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, joining her ex-boyfriend on his gap year travels, to find her birth mother in California. But all does not go as planned. As Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonizing decision of her own, one which will be the most heart breaking and far-reaching of all.
 

I read this book a few weeks ago, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. But I will start off with: The cover is BORING. I like the UK cover much better--they have some color and personality. With the US cover, just blah. 

And now the story...

I was impressed with how surprising this novel was. When I began, I expected the story to go in one direction, and then it went in a new direction and took a few twists along the way. I liked the originality.

There were really two stories being told, Rosie's and an unnamed girl who had a page here and there between Rosie's narrative. It was interesting how the two girls and their stories met up and how they were resolved.

I thought the writing was interesting, the character's and their stories interesting, and the how twisted it all was.

I will say that Rosie and the mystery girl did get on my nerves at times. Mostly because I wanted them to behave in a different manner then they did. But, not everyone is me so they did their own thing and it worked for the story being told.

I liked.

review: Welcome, Caller, This is Chole by Shelley Coriell

pub date: May 1, 2012
publisher: Amulet Books
pages: 299
appeals: radio, romance, friends, family, happy main character
content: clean

summary:
Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly.

Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

thoughts:
This is a sweet story with a great main character. What is so appealing about Chloe is she is not angsty or bitter with the difficult things that are happening to her with her friends and family. She makes fun, happy things and takes control in finding the good. She is also very forgiving of those who treat her poorly. Which is really nice and refreshing.

Besides all the meanness from many of the other characters populating the book, I liked them. Especially Duncan. He wasn't necessarily heartthrob material, but he was way sweet.

Some of the story I found unrealistic--for example her call-in show becoming uber popular in a matter of three weeks. But who cares--it was fun.

review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

pub date: February 14, 2012
publisher: Random House Children's Book
pages: 313
source: for review at Kiss the Book
appeals: mulitple narrators, male protagonist, facial deformity, school, bullies, contemporary fiction, friendship, family
content: clean

thoughts:
I'm not sure why I picked this book up, since it's for a younger audience then I usually enjoy reading and I didn't know much about it beyond knowing it had gotten good reviews from professional reviewers.

But I'm glad I picked it up and I'm glad I then read it. It was amazing.

The story is told through 5 points of view, first person. Auggie has the largest 2 sections, the first and the last. But in the middle we get to read Auggie's story through four other people as well, his sister Via, Via's friend, and two of Auggie's friends at his new school. It gave a more complete picture of Auggie and really showed how remarkable this ten-year-old boy was. The multiple view points were one of the reasons I loved the book so much.

The novel is also extremely well-written and populated with real, flawed, and amazing characters. This is one of those books where the characters have these insights into their lives like a light bulb flashing on, but they're also insights into life in general. Just a really amazing book.

I am curious about the audience. Has anyone else read this book? Who do you think it's for? Auggie is ten, he's in fifth grade. But the level of reading for this book seems more like sixth or seventh. But would a six or seventh grader read this book about a fifth grader? Any opinons on that? I do think a teacher would need to direct students to this book. Doesn't seem like one they'd just pick up read on their own, and they should! It is a fantastic book.

summary:
I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.


August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

review: The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas

pub date: October 11, 2011
publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
pages: 351
appeals: contemporary, cancer, family, romance, hockey
source: for review at Kiss the Book
content: some swearing, Rose has slept with her boyfriend in the past, but there isn't much described, just some references and talk about sex

thoughts:
When I began this book I expected a suffering protagonist, a father struggling with the loss of his wife, a boyfriend who just didn't understand, and a new boy who would help the protag cope.

What I got was a suffering protagonist, a father struggling with the loss of his wife, a boyfriend who tried to understand but the protag was just too damaged to keep the relationship alive, and a new boy who helped the protag cope.

So, yeah, pretty much what I expected. Doesn't there seem to be a lot of this kind of story out right now?

And yet...I got sucked in anyway. It was a well told story, with a few surprises, and I was really interested in Rose's journey to finding hope after the death of her mother. So sure, it was predictable, but still good.

I was really annoyed with the dad. I didn't enjoy him so much. I guess it was because it just seemed so...obvious. Couldn't he grieve in a more original way? But I was supposed to be annoyed with him, so I guess he did his job in the story.

summary:
When Rose’s mom dies, she leaves behind a brown paper bag labeled Rose’s Survival Kit. Inside the bag, Rose finds an iPod, with a to-be-determined playlist; a picture of peonies, for growing; a crystal heart, for loving; a paper star, for making a wish; and a paper kite, for letting go.

As Rose ponders the meaning of each item, she finds herself returning again and again to an unexpected source of comfort. Will is her family’s gardener, the school hockey star, and the only person who really understands what she’s going through. Can loss lead to love?

review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

pub date: February 7, 2012
publisher: Putnam
pages: 326
source: Library Thing Early Reviewer
appeals: historical, paranormal, witches, magic, family
content: some sweet kissin

thoughts:
I enjoyed this book. I thought Spotswood's world was interesting, as were her characters. I was mislead by the cover. I assumed the book took place in present times, but it's America in the past sometime (the mid 1800s or so?). Now, does that girl on the cover look like she lived 15o years ago? She's showing her knees! And has a seductive look in her (very make-uped) face! So, yeah, I felt a little mislead. But I still enjoyed the book.

Cate's world is controlled by the Brotherhood who preach against witches and accuse many innocent girls of possessing magic. Which makes it hard for Cate because she is a witch, as are her two younger sisters.

I liked the story. I appreciated what Cate was struggling with and the decisions she had to make and how she strived to protect her sisters. I especially, really, really liked the romance in the book. It was very well done.

I did have an issue with the magic possessed by some witches. I don't like magic that has the power to mess with other's minds. I just think it's too powerful. It makes it so there's no balance between good and evil. So that bugged me.  

Also, I am so FRUSTRATED!!

****Slight spoilers follow...proceed at your own risk...****

I am frustrated on two counts, the first being that Cate is an idiot at times. She finds this important information in her mom's journal that involves all three sisters AND SHE WAITS AND WAITS AND WAITS TO TELL HER SISTERS ABOUT IT because ... well, I'm not really sure why. Except that the plot depended on the misunderstanding between siblings. Withheld information to move the story along is a plot device I loath. The more I think about it, the more it bothers me.

(also, as a side note...what the heck is Cate's mother doing keeping a diary the last year of her life that says, explicitly, that her daughter is a witch? Information that can potentially kill her daughter? why write that out on paper and put her whole family in danger? Don't get it...)


Second, though I am okay with the unresolved ending (but only because I have to be and I have hope in the rest of the series resolving the mess that this book ends with), I am not okay with the way Cate handles herself. Similar to frustration #1, at the end Cate once again doesn't discuss things with her sisters, leaving it to a woman she hates to explain her actions--which will not bode well for the next book. ARG. I am soooo upset about it, and so the last two pages of the book rather tainted my opinion of the whole story.

****Okay, slightly spoilery part of this review is over****

I enjoyed book for the most part. Really, I did. I just get so frustrated at times with characters who do dumb things. And withheld information just to make the plot work.

summary:
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other

review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith

pub date: January 2, 2012
publisher: Poppy
pages: 256
source: publisher
appeals: romance, London, divorce, travel, family
content: clean

thoughts:
Really fun book. I love teen books that involve travel and love. So this was a perfect book for me.

I liked Hadley. She's going to her father's marriage and she's angry and bitter and I totally would have been, too. Even in such a short time as a day, she grows as a character and her view of her world changes. And I love that.  

I also liked Oliver. First, the name. Isn't Oliver such a cool name? Love it. Also, his accent. How I wish I could've heard it instead of read it. He was also sweet and funny and gentlemanly (most of the time). And he can draw ducks, which would make any woman swoon.

Hadley and Oliver's relationship developed very nicely and believabley. It was cute and sweet, but it also delved a lot deeper than just surface stuff. Only half of the book took place on the plane, the other half was on land while they were both in London, and that was a lot of fun, too.

I wanted more. I liked Hadley and Oliver, and I just wanted more. The book felt really short.

I must say that it was a little jarring because the bulk of the book was written in present tense, with interspersed memories in past tense. I find present tense jarring anyway, but when I was reading a memory I got used to past, then all the sudden it was in present. Didn't effect my opinion of the book, still enjoyed it, but I would've liked if it had been all past instead. Just not a fan of present tense in general.

summary:
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?


Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18B. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

pub date: August 2, 2011
publisher: HarperTeen
pages: 288
appeals: Mr Darcy!, Austen read-a-like, romance, high school, family
content: some swearing

thoughts:
I don't think I'll ever get tired of Pride and Prejudice retellings. This one was fun. So much fun. And LaZebnik didn't stick exactly to the story, as so many others do. She gave herself wiggle room in the plot which made it that much more fun.

Her mother is unbareably embarrassing, her father is very nonparental. Her elder sister is sweet, and her younger sister out of control. And then Derek (aka Darcy) is very much a grouch, but a very sweet one.

Of course I loved the development of the romance. After I finished the book I had to go back and reread the best parts. A true sign of an enjoyable book.

Overall, a fun, light-hearted, sweet, and romantic teen romance. I recommend.

summary:
Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?


At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

review: Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

pub date: July 12, 2011
publisher: Random House Children's Books
pages: 416
appeals: ghosts, mystery, romance, magic, witches, family, romance, Texas, ranching, romance :)
content: some swearing, a make-out scene

thoughts:
What a fun book. Really, quite delightful.

I liked Amy, our main character, and her snarky, sarcastic, highly entertaining personality. From the very first page, she grabbed my interest and kept me reading. Her family, especially sister Phin, were great, too. Is this a series? I kind of hope so because I really enjoyed the characters and would love more of them.

I must make a separate paragraph to make mention of the "hot neighbor cowboy." He is hot! He's her neighbor! and he's a cowboy! What isn't to love? He has a great personality, too. Amy meets while wearing only her underwear which makes for a great scene. From the onset, they hate each other, but Clement-Moore is so great at building the romantic tension in the mist of all their arguing. It was sublime romance. Seriously. But also rather nice that it was just attraction, and not all consuming, I-love-you-though-I-met-you-three-minutes-ago-and-I'll-die-without-you kind of thing. It was just a sweet, nice, realistic attraction. A really good one.

The overall story was fun. It's a mystery surrounding a ghost, with a good dose of denial and witchery, and some great snarky attitude. On a Texas ranch! Really fun stuff. And a quick read, for all it's pages.

You should give this one a try. It's good.

summary:
Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.

review: How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

pub date: October 18, 2011
publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
pages: 341
appeals: adoption, teen pregnancy, realistic fiction
content: swearing, sex though not descriptive, abuse

thoughts:
I love me this book. Love, love, love! Passionately.

The characters in this novel are so real and flawed and believable and whole and awesome. I loved them all.

I loved Jill and Mandy. Their perceptions of the world and how they dealt with crap was so believable. Their struggles and how they dealt with horrible stuff and how they grew. Their insights into their world were so great. They're like real people to me now. I was really pleased with where they ended up, too. I usually find Sara Zarr's endings a little...unsettling, but this one was fantastic. It was actually happy. All the secondary characters were just as amazing. All the little details and peronality quirks were so tangable. Jill's father was dead, and he was a solid character in this book as if he was sitting in the leather chair in their family room.




 
I feel like I'm just blabbering and not saying anything (but I guess that is what I do when I review). It's an amazing story of growth and love and acceptance and moving on. It's beautifully written. Once I started it I didn't want to put it down. I was at work and all I was thinking about was lunch so I could read more, and after lunch I was counting down the hours till I could go home and read more. And then when I did go home and finish the book, I just hugged it to my chest because I was sad it was over. (not really, but you know what I mean)
 
This is a must read book. Please read! You are totally missing out if you don't pick it up.

summary:
Jill MacSweeney just wants everything to go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. You can't lose one family member and simply replace him with a new one, and when her mom decides to adopt a baby, that's exactly what it feels like she's trying to do. And that's decidedly not normal. With her world crumbling around her, can Jill come to embrace a new member of the family?


Mandy Kalinowski knows what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, she knows she wants a better life for her baby. But can giving up a child be as easy as it seems? And will she ever be able to find someone to care for her, too?

Critically acclaimed author and National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr delivers a heart-wrenching story, told from dual perspectives, about what it means to be a family and the many roads we can take to become one.

review: Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

pub date: April 5, 2011
publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
pages: 368
format: audio
appeals: historical fiction, realistic fiction, family, art
content: clean

thoughts:
Schmidt has a gift of writing real, fully developed characters, including those on the edges of the story.

In the beginning of the novel, there are some really jerky people in Doug's life. His brother and the gym coach at his new school being two examples. Yet Schmidt has a way of showing why a character is the way they are, and with that new insight, no matter how jerky they are, it's hard to hate them. Which is AMAZING storytelling. The only character that I never really understood, especially at the end, was Doug's father. I didn't feel forgiveness towards him. But all the rest...POW! What GREAT characterization.

He is also amazing at playing my heart strings. One chapter I was so happy because things were FINALLY going well with Doug. But by the next chapter, something would happen that made me cry, literally cry. Twice I had tears running down my cheeks, I was so involved with Doug and his story, I had to keep listening long after I arrived home (I listened to it in my car and the narrator was wonderful).

I was very happy in the way the book ended--very hopeful. There was a while there where I was wondering if that would be possible. But it was. Yay!

The organization of the novel was also AMAZING. I loved how Auduban's artwork tied in so well with the story and the lessons Doug learns throughout the year of the novel. And since I listened to the book, it was rather nice how well Schmidt described the bird paintings because I didn't have the book to seem the birds myself.

So, if you haven't figured out how I feel about this book, let me tell you right out. I LOVED it. LOVED it.

And I'm not lying.

summary:
Midwesterner Gary D. Schmidt won Newbery Honor awards for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boys and The Wednesday Wars, two coming-of-age novels about unlikely friends finding a bond. Okay For Now, his latest novel, explores another seemingly improbable alliance, this one between new outsider in town Doug Swieteck and Lil Spicer, the savvy spitfire daughter of his deli owner boss. With her challenging assistance, Doug discovers new sides of himself. Along the way, he also readjusts his relationship with his abusive father, his school peers, and his older brother, a newly returned war victim of Vietnam.

review: Past Perfect

pub date: October 4, 2011
publisher: Simon Pulse
pages: 322
source: Simon and Schuster Galley Grab
format: digital
appeals: contemporary, romance, family, historical reenactment,
content: I don't remember...

thoughts:
This is one of those instances where I read the book over a month ago and just realized that I never wrote the review that I was going to write and that I thought I had written. So, um...yeah, I can't remember details anymore, so here are some broad strokes of what I think I thought way back in August.

I remember that I loved Chelsea. She had such a fun personality. Very easy to read, her story just flowed from one thing into another. I really wanted her to find her place and get what she wanted. I wanted her to succeed.

The plot was fun and wild and so wacky. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion by the situations she found herself in.

I liked the main love interest. Not the ex-boyfriend (blah!), but the crush. I liked him!

There was no pat, perfect, ending. Which is sort of annoying as a reader, but also rather refreshing.

There was a lot of insight in this book, about family, love, and life. You know what I mean? When you read a book and things happen and after these things happen a character will sum up everything they learned in just a few sentences and those few sentences apply to things in life as a whole, not just to that one character. I like books like that.

I loved the setting--two reenactment camps across the street from each other. Which made for a lot of fun.

I'm thinking this might have been a completely pointless review. But, there you have it. I did enjoy this book a lot when I read it. I just wish I remembered more detail.

summary:
All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.

Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present, and her new crush seeming all too off limits, all Chelsea knows is that she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it…

review: The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

pub date: September 6, 2011
publisher: HarperTeen
pages: 432
source: NetGalley
appeals: death, family, contemporary, realistic fiction,
content: a heavy make out scene

thoughts:
I had the hardest time not comparing this book to If I Stay by Gayle Forman, at least in the beginning. Which really wasn't fair because they aren't similar except for the family dynamic (mother, father, brother) and what happens to them (they die in a car accident). This book doesn't answer the question, "should I stay?" like Forman's, it instead answers the question, "I'm here, how do I deal?" 

This was a great book. I had a hard time putting it down. I wanted to know what would happen next. I thought Castle handled the situation and difficulties of Laurel's world changing really well. The writing flowed, and though this is a long book, it didn't feel like it. It read really quickly.

I appreciated the romance in the novel. There were two boys, but I didn't feel that it was a love triangle. Laurel's relationship with both of them were realistic and real and Laurel's feelings for them changed and evolved as she grew as a character. I liked how real it felt.

Laurel was a sympathetic and likable character and I felt for her plight. But even as I write that, I felt the telling of her story was very much on the surface, and didn't delve deep. I never felt deeply her pain. I wasn't attached to her family. There were memories Laurel shared, but they weren't deep enough to evoke an emotional response from me.

I liked this book a lot, but I wanted more. I wanted to feel more than I did.  


summary:
Sixteen-year-old Laurel's world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all, there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel's life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss, a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

Fans of emotionally true and heartfelt stories, such as Sarah Dessen's THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER and IF I STAY by Gayle Forman, will fall in love with Jennifer Castle’s incandescent debut novel...a heart wrenching, surprisingly witty testament to how drastically life can change in the span of a single moment.

review: Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

pub date: June 21, 2011
publisher: Hyperion
pages: 304
source: publisher
series: Heist Society #2
appeals: Robin Hood-ish, adventure, friendship, world traveler, family
content: clean

thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. It was a lot of fun to read, with an engaging plot and great characters. There was a lot of adventure, humor, a teeny-tiny romantic interlude, and fun.

I love reading books about characters who learn and change and grow wiser through the novel's adventures, and that was Kat. She rather irritated me in the beginning because she insisted on isolating herself from friends and family. But she learned and by the end of the book, she didn't irritate me anymore. And it wasn't just Kat I liked reading, it was all her crew, too. They are fun and funny. If Kat ditches them again...erg. Then I will have something to say that isn't flattering.

The plot was great. I love how the beginning is simple and straight forward. But by a fourth the way through, it suddenly isn't anymore. A lot of twists and turns that kept me reading and guessing on what was going to happen next and how Kat would handle the situation. 

It's been a year since I read the first in the series, Heist Society, so my recollection of that novel was a little hazy. I felt that Carter did a fantastic job at putting reminders in of previous events, without huge chunks of info dump. Which I appreciated a lot.

I wanted a little more romance. At least another kiss. A good one. But then I remember that Kat is 15, and I get why there isn't. But still...

summary:
Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners. There are only three problems.

First, the gem is owned by the most secure auction house in the world. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed. Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her intrepid crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the world, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

Critics and fans alike have fallen for Heist Society (no conning necessary). With more mystery, non-stop action, romance and humor, this second novel in the hit series is just as irresistible.

review: I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

pub date: May 3, 2011
publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
pages: 400
appeals: contemporary, realistic fiction, romance, family
content: clean (I think. I don't remember anything that would make it otherwise)

thoughts:
I enjoyed this story. It was not what I expected, and I love to be surprised. I thought it was interesting and well written with great descriptions and characters.

However, I felt Sloan's writing style was more of a summary. I felt too much of the story was skimmed over. Emily and Sam supposedly have a deep relationship, but as a reader I wasn't ever privy to the building of the relationship. I just was told by the narrator that they talked and spent time together. I wanted to read about it, not just be told about it. So the fact that this relationship was so important to the story kind of put a kink in my love for the book because I didn't buy into it. 

This novel was written from multiple perspectives, and I really enjoyed that. I thought it opened up a lot of the characters by seeing them through anothers eyes.

Though I did like the multiple perspectives, at times it got annoying. Mostly I wanted the story to focus on Sam and Riddle and Emily, but a few characters went off on tangents that took away from the main story. And that bothered me because I didn't care about the tangents, I cared about the main three characters. Bobby was the worst offender. I didn't like him and though he was important to certain plot points, he got old really fast. I wanted out of his head, especially when it came to the prom. Too many pages were wasted on him.


So I did like the book, I thought the story and characters were compelling. I just didn't love it like I wanted to.   

summary:
Raised by an unstable father who keeps the family constantly on the move, Sam Border hasn't been in a classroom since the second grade. He's always been the rock for his younger brother Riddle, who stopped speaking long ago and instead makes sense of the world through his strange and intricate drawings. It's said that the two boys speak with one voice--and that voice is Sam's.


Then, Sam meets Emily Bell, and everything changes. The two share an immediate and intense attraction, and soon Sam and Riddle find themselves welcomed into the Bell's home. Faced with normalcy for the first time, they know it's too good to last.

Told from multiple perspectives, Holly Goldberg Sloan's debut novel offers readers fresh voices and a gripping story, with vivid glimpses into the lives of many unique characters. Beautifully written and emotionally profound, I'll Be There is a story about connections both big and small, and deftly explores the many ways that our lives are woven together.

review: The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

pub date: June 28, 2011
publisher: Simon Pulse
pages: 307
source: Simon and Schuster galley grab
appeals: contemporary, romance, family, verse
content: a little swearing

thoughts:
I enjoy Schroeder's books a lot so I was really excited to read this through Simon and Schuster's galley grab. I liked this one. I liked how the summary didn't give away the plot. It was nice to discover what The Day After will hold for Amber and Cade

I did feel like there wasn't much story. Amber and Cade share a day together, 24 hours. It's all told through Amber, who tells of their day and their individual back stories and what is going to happen to them next, but it didn't seem enough. It didn't feel like a flushed out story. And it wasn't because it was in verse, because I didn't feel this way with Schroeder's other books. Just this one.

I liked the characters. I did like their stories. I did like Amber and Cade's day together. I just wanted there to be more.  

I am a little disappointed in the cover. I think it's a nice cover, just a tad too dramatic for the story inside. She spends the day at the beach, what is she doing hiding in weeds?

summary:
Sometimes there's no turning back.

Amber's life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of her family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell that he's also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she's drawn to him. And the more she's troubled by his darkness. Because Cade's not just living in the now--he's living each moment like it's his last.

review: The FitzOsbornes in Exile by Michelle Cooper

pub date: April 5, 2011
publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
pages: 464
format: audio
appeals: historical fiction, realistic fiction, WWII, family, humor
content: a few scattered swear words, some interesting topics of conversation that aren't horrible, but that make me not classify this book as 'clean'

thoughts:
I listened to this book in my car, right on the heels of listening to the first of the Montmaray Journals, A Brief History of Montmaray. So for over a month I listened to Sophie's diary and lived in her world. And then it was over and I was so very SAD. I loved both books, but now have to wait for the third in the series, however long that takes. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Toby and Simon and Veronica, and especially Sophie.

And I must say that the audio version was FANTASTIC. The reader added so much to the story.

What I loved about the book:

1--I loved the humor in these books. Obviously the author was making it funny, but Sophie wasn't trying to be funny. She just wrotes what she saw in her diary and it came across as so humorous because she was so serious. I laughed so much while listening to this book.

2--I loved the characters, especially the four main characters, Veronica, Sophie, Simon, and Toby. Their aunt was pretty great, too.

3--I loved the history in these books. This one ended just as WW2 is beginning. So there has been 4 years of build up to this point. There were a lot of 1930s politics in this novel, which I was surprised I didn't get bored with. But I didn't. Now the war had come, and I'm am so worried for these characters that I love! What will happen to them!?!? 

Fantastic books. And I'm saying that when there isn't any romance in the book. That says a lot about how wonderful these books are.

summary:
Michelle Cooper combines the drama of pre-War Europe with the romance of debutante balls and gives us another compelling historical page turner.Sophia FitzOsborne and the royal family of Montmaray escaped their remote island home when the Germans attacked, and now find themselves in the lap of luxury. Sophie's journal fills us in on the social whirl of London's 1937 season, but even a princess in lovely new gowns finds it hard to fit in. Is there no other debutante who reads?!And while the balls and house parties go on, newspaper headlines scream of war in Spain and threats from Germany. No one wants a second world war. Especially not the Montmaravians—with all Europe under attack, who will care about the fate of their tiny island kingdom? Will the FitzOsbornes ever be able to go home again? Could Montmaray be lost forever?

review: The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

pub date: March 8, 2011 
publisher: Candlewick Press
pages: 336
appeals: family, contemporary fiction, realistic, frienship, romance
content: a lot of swearing, a lot of the f-bomb, sex,

thoughts:
I was really excited about this book because I loved Saving Francesca. Sadly for me, I didn't enjoy this book much.

First of all, it read more like an adult book with adult problems. Thomas tells his story half of the book, but his Aunt Georgie tells the other half. She's in her forties, is pregnant, and is having relationship issues. Their stories together show a whole picture of their family situation which is the point of the book. It was just too adultish. I wanted YA.

Second of all, there were A LOT of characters and it was difficult to keep track of who was who. Especially because we're told about all these people, but we don't meet most of them until later in the story, if at all. Very confusing. I didn't know who they were talking about half the time.

And third, the characters from Saving Francesca weren't the same. I guess it has been 5 years, but I missed the way they were. And overall, I didn't love the new characters. They didn't speak to me.

So, a disappointing book.

blurb:
Award-winning author Melina Marchetta reopens the story of the group of friends from her acclaimed novel Saving Francesca - but five years have passed, and now it’s Thomas Mackee who needs saving. After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can’t forget. Shooting for oblivion, he’s hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom’s in no shape to mend what’s broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper’s Son redefines what it means to go home again.

review: Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

pub date: May 10, 2011
publisher: Little, Brown
pages: 368
source: ALA Midwinter 2011
appeal: realistic fiction, physical abuse, friendship, family,
content: swearing (including f-word), abuse, off the page sex


thoughts:
This was a tough book to read. A tough book to write a review about.

It took me a while to read because Alex and her relationship with Cole was disturbing and frustrating, as it was meant to be. So I didn't pick it up as often as I would have had it been a fantasy or a nice, happy book.


I thought Brown did a fantastic job of showing how the relationship between Alex and Cole developed. Alex is a smart girl, she knew that he was abusive and couldn't believe that she was still with him, but still stuck with him. Her reasoning was plausible, but frustrating for me to read about. I was upset at the people that were around her. Especially her father. Also frustrating. But very realistic and once again, plausible.
 This is a really well-written. Sad, but if that is the kind of book you like to read, then this is for you.

summary:
When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole, a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her, she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate-someone who truly understands her and loves her for who she really is.

At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her best friends, Zack and Bethany, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all of her time with another boy? But as the months pass, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats. As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose - between her "true love" and herself.

review: nightspell by Leah Cypress

pub date: May 31, 2011
publisher: Greenwillow
pages: 336
source: ALA Midwinter 2011
appeals: ghosts, fantasy, court intrigue, family,
content: clean

thoughts:
This book took me eight days to finish. Which for someone who reads most books in 1-3 days, says a few things:
1) It wasn't a book that enthralled me, one that I couldn't put down. I didn't have to know what was going to happen next.
2) It was interesting enough to finish. If I'm bored with a book, I don't finish it.

I enjoyed Cyress' first book, Mistwood, more than Nightspell. She is an amazing world builder, as apparent in both her books. I also find her ideas very original. There are a lot of ghost books out right now where the main character falls in love with a ghost. I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say, that isn't this book. Cypress creates original worlds and characters and problems. I like that.

However, I thought the plot was a little slow. That it took along time for things to happen. It was more fact gathering than action.

One of the reasons I wasn't enthralled with the story was the lack of romance. I like romance in my books. It doesn't have to be a large part of the plot or even have to do with the main character. I just like it to be somewhere. It was nowhere in Ghostland. I missed it. Lovelessness made it not so enjoyable for me.

The ending was very exciting. I was wanting to know what was going to happen. All that information gathering was coming to an exciting conclusion. Then...the last ten pages. ARG! I wanted it to end differently. I was a little disappointed.

Anyway, solid world building and interesting characters. Great for fantasy lovers who don't care if there are actual lovers in the novel.

summary:
A stand-alone companion novel to the much-acclaimed MISTWOOD. When Darri rides into Ghostland, a country where the living walk with the dead, she has only one goal: to rescue her younger sister Callie, who was sent to Ghostland as a hostage four years ago. But Callie has changed in those four years, and now has secrets of her own. In her quest to save her sister from herself, Darri will be forced to outmaneuver a handsome ghost prince, an ancient sorcerer, and a manipulative tribal warrior (who happens to be her brother). When Darri discovers the source of the spell that has kept the dead in Ghostland chained to this earth, she faces a decision that will force her to reexamine beliefs she has never before questioned - and lead her into the heart of a conspiracy that threatens the very balance of power between the living and the dead.

review: What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

pub date: May 10, 2011
publisher: Penguin
pages: 416
source: ALA Midwinter
appeals: contemporary, SARAH DESSEN, family, friendship,
content: um...I don't remember

thoughts:
What Happened to Goodbye is Classic Dessen. Lonely girl with a problem gathers friends by accident, along with a boy who later becomes more than just a friend. Girl successfully conquers problem and makes peace with herself.

Okay, I'm making it sound like Classic Dessen is bad, but it's not. It's really good. Classic Dessen works. I own most all her books and love them.

The thing is, I'm not sure what to write about this particular book. I liked Dave. I liked the friends Mclean accidentally acquires. I liked Mclean's family, especially how first impressions aren't the whole story. I thought her growth as a character was realistic and I really felt for her. After finishing the book, I kept thinking about her and her story for days afterward.

But that is all I have to say about it.  


Except, "hey, I read a book and it was good. You should read it, too! If you like Dessen, you'll like this one. If you like realistic fiction or problem novels or family drama or reading in general, you'll like this one! You should give it a try!"

summary:
Another town. Another school. Another Mclean. Ever since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her father have been fleeing their unhappy past. And Mclean becomes a pro at reinventing herself with each move. But in Lakeview, Mclean finds herself putting down roots and making friends—in part, thanks to Dave, the most real person Mclean's ever met. Dave just may be falling in love with her, but can he see the person she really is? Does Mclean herself know?