Sandy M’s review of Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard
Young Adult published by Viking Juvenile 19 Jan 12

As most of you who read my reviews know, I’m not a stickler for accuracy or total believability and realism in my romance novels. That doesn’t mean a lot to me when given terrific characters and an intriguing storyline. I have to say, however, in this instance with Jennifer Hubbard’s young adult book, all of those elements are well done when it comes to teen suicide.

The best parts of this book for me are those dealing with both Ryan’s sarcastic humor and his reaction to people, including his parents, when faced with attempted suicide. Then there’s his parents’ reactions to both the attempt and the aftermath. I find these to be quite believable and real. It makes me wonder how close to home the author has experienced these things in her book. It just seems more than good research has put the pain and emotion in this story.

At first I wondered why Ryan’s attempt at suicide is really hardly an attempt at all. He is depressed, has the usual teenage issues, and when he thinks about killing himself, he chooses to do so in the family car in the garage, with a towel wedged under the door to the house to block any effect on his mother inside. But the car runs only a minute, two at the most, and then his father comes home, interrupting Ryan’s plans. All hell breaks loose and he ends up at a mental hospital. It’s later during scenes with his parents, both together and separately, that it becomes clear to me it doesn’t matter to them how long or how half-hearted the attempt was. This is their son. He tried to kill himself. They don’t know why. They don’t know what to do with him or around him after he comes home. Those scenes are intense, especially with Ryan’s mother when she breaks down while talking to him. His father now seems to listen to him more when they sit down together for their father-son ballgames on TV.

Ryan’s favorite place is a waterfall near his home, especially when kids at school back away and stare now that they know what he tried to do. There’s a peacefulness at the falls for Ryan, and it’s where he meets Nicki. She’s the only one who doesn’t sensor what she says to Ryan, doesn’t wince if the wrong is said or implied, doesn’t think he’s that sensitive anymore when it comes to his depression and subsequent decision. In fact, she wants to talk about his suicide attempt, wants to know what he felt, why he did it, did he leave a note. Not wanting to talk about it himself, Ryan tries to dodge Nicki’s questions, but when he learns her father killed himself, he relents and tells her a little, though he knows it won’t be enough for her. His answers are his alone.

Along for the ride to healing with him are Ryan’s friends from the hospital, Jake and Valerie. The three friends have stayed in touch since their releases, and it’s Valerie who Ryan is always thinking about, hoping she feels the same about him. It’s after he accompanies Nicki to see a psychic or two to get her answers about her dad that Ryan finally gets to see Valerie once again. Though she’s too young at fifteen to drive, Nicki handles her brother’s truck like a pro and drops Ryan off to spend a few hours with Val, all of which he wishes never happens after she rebuffs him, thinking they live too far apart for anything to happen between them.

So Ryan turns to the one recent constant in his life – Nicki. Young hormones race and rage, feelings bubble to the surface, more secrets are revealed, and it feels good. For a little while anyway. Just when everything seems to be going right for him, Ryan finds perhaps it was a scam, definitely all a lie. Even his waterfall suddenly becomes tainted by deceit. A friend goes back into the hospital. Will life ever get back on a stable keel for Ryan?

Try Not to Breathe is a very frank look at all sides in the aftermath of a teen suicide attempt, even though it’s from Ryan’s POV. Ms. Hubbard does a terrific job of getting all those sides represented, good and bad. Ryan is a very likable young man, coming out relatively intact after such an event. You feel for him, no matter the situation. A good book to pass to anyone who’s walked in the same steps as Ryan, letting them know, if nothing else, they’re not alone.

Grade: B

Summary:

Ryan spends most of his time alone at the local waterfall because it’s the only thing that makes him feel alive. He’s sixteen, post-suicidal, and trying to figure out what to do with himself after a stint in a mental hospital. Then Nicki barges into his world, brimming with life and energy, and asking questions about Ryan’s depression that no one else has ever been brave enough – or cared enough – to ask. Ryan isn’t sure why he trusts Nicki with his darkest secrets, but that trust turns out to be the catalyst that he desperately needs to start living again.

No excerpt available.

Liviania’s review of If I Tell by Janet Gurtler
Young Adult published by Sourcebooks Fire 1 Oct 11

I knew almost nothing about the book when I began If I Tell.  That’s a good situation to go into the book with, because it may be slim, but If I Tell covers a wide range of topics, from first love to growing up bi-racial in a small town.

Jaz is seventeen, the same age her mother was when she got pregnant.  Now her mother is pregnant again.  Jaz would be happy – she got along well with Simon, the first real black presence in her life.  But the other night, Simon got drunk and kissed the also-drunk Lacey, Jaz’s best friend.  (Not as gross as it could be: he’s 27; she’s 21.)  A drunk kiss isn’t the end of the world for an adult, but for a teenager . . . well, she’s been betrayed by the two people she’s closest to and the one person she really wants to tell is particularly vulnerable at the moment.

Janet Gurtler is excellent at making Jaz seem like a real teenager.  Every problem is amplified in her mind, and her issues take precedence over the issues of those around her.  But that’s a problem sometimes, because real teenagers are often awful people and it’s hard to sympathize with Jaz.  She tries not to hurt her mom by telling her about the kiss, but decides the best way not to tell her is to avoid her completely.  (Hurtful)  When Jaz finally meets someone else who is bi-racial, she’s rude and dismissive of their experience due to their passing privilege.  (Sorry for the awkward third person, but I don’t want to give the identity away.  It’s a pretty good surprise.)

The slow-building romance between Jaz and Jackson is my favorite part of the book.  He’s a good balance for her.  He’s an already reformed bad boy and thus more reflective than your average teenage boy.  He knows his actions have consequences.  Unfortunately, there’s so much going on in If I Tell that he drops out of the story quite often.

I like how lived-in Gurtler has made her world.  But sometimes I wish she’d cut some things out.  There’s an attempted date rape plot that goes nowhere and is utterly infuriating because no one calls the guy out for getting an underage girl drunk in order to have sex with her.  Jaz gets mad at Nathan and makes it clear that they were never together and are certainly not going out again.  She doesn’t, however, get mad at her friends who are surprised she’s not dating him.

The bullying subplot is also handled awkwardly.  Gurtler creates a head mean girl who has it out for Jaz.  She’s the only true human antagonist in the novel, but she only shows up for two short scenes and delivers a bit of karma to Nathan.  I’m cool with nothing bad happening to her in the end, because plenty of bullies get away with it.  But it feels odd to have the bullying move from general and systemic to personal and then have no further development.

I love Gurtler’s prose, which is smooth and unhurried.  If I Tell is very easy to read.  I enjoyed the realistic approach, but felt it was just too realistic at times.  The action needed to be a little more contained and Jaz could’ve been less bratty.  At the same time, Jaz’s motivations are understandable and it allows her to develop and mature.  I just wish she started growing up earlier.

Grade: C+

Summary:

Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure… people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a onenight stand between a black football player and a blonde princess. Having a young mother who didn’t raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she’s never fit in hasn’t been easy. But she’s been surviving. Until she sees her mom’s new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever?

Read an excerpt here.

Sandy M’s review of A Clockwork Fairytale by Helen Scott Taylor
Paranormal Young Adult published by Helen Scott Taylor 26 Aug 11

I became a fan of Helen Scott Taylor with her first book, The Magic Knot. Her lyrical writing and amazing imagination give you characters you’ll remember for a long time, along with stories that take you away into a land of magic that dazzles with danger and romance. Her new book, A Clockwork Fairytale, is no exception. The fact that it’s a young adult book makes it that much more endearing, watching a young love blossom in the face of fear and a hunger never felt before.

Melba is running around the city picking pockets and filching food and whatever else is needed to survive — all disguised as a boy. She’s been in the care of Master Maddox her entire life, never knowing her parents or where she comes from. One night she’s in the wrong place at the wrong time, and her life dramatically changes. Opportunity has given her the chance to spy for Master Turk, the best in the business, and she’s determined not to waste this moment. Even at 17 she has high aspirations in the spy game, along with a will to get her where she wants to go. This night Turk is her savior, so maybe her luck has already started to change.

Deciding at the last minute to take Mel under his wing, Turk exchanges pledges with the lad and they head toward Mel’s new home, one supplied to Turk by the Shining Brotherhood. It’s not long, however, before things begin to unravel and Turk discovers he’s harboring a girl – who is also the long-lost Princess Melbaline, no longer the abducted child but a young woman now on the cusp of a new life. Knowing his duty is to return Melba to her father, Turk, with the blessing of his master with the Brotherhood, begins to teach her how to be a lady and a princess and also how to bring forth her magic.

Once Melba’s gender is no longer an issue and she’s no longer a candidate for a spy, she begins to see the world differently – first the luxury of Turk’s home and all that comes with it and then Turk himself.  Her feelings and emotions are just blossoming and Turk is her knight in shining armor. What she doesn’t know yet is who she is. There are those who would still do what it takes to keep her from the palace, so Turk trains her in secrecy. Their attraction grows over the course of the weeks they’re together, but Turk knows Melba can never be his. Aside from the fact she’s royalty, he’s also never told her he’s a monk with the Brotherhood.

When she learns what Turk has in store for her, Melba wants none of it, only desiring to stay with Turk. But her father awaits and the day comes when Melba returns home at last. And then the trouble truly begins. While she’s known the fear and angst of living from hand to mouth, Melba has never known true fear at the hands of another. Being at the mercy of a man using magic for his own evil gains slowly turns into a nightmare for both Turk and Melba. But love prevails as they work together to right the wrongs that have hung over the royal house for so many years.

In and among this beautiful historical story is Earth magic, the raising of Jinns, a type of earth spirit, that are mostly used for good, but there’s also someone who uses them for ill. Turk is thrown into confusion at the attitude of his master toward his need and want of Melba. Melba is just as confused as to why Turk would rather give her away to duty than stay with her. They take to the rooftops and the underments of the city to race against time and danger. There are inter-related characters who all take on very different personas throughout, quirky to crazy, and they’re all quite interesting. Dante the Trash King is one I especially like.

If you’ve yet to read to Helen Scott Taylor’s Magic Knot Fairies books, don’t bypass the beginning of this new series. Helen Scott Taylor will become a favorite of yours too.

Grade: A+

Summary:

A rags to riches fairytale about a lost princess and a maverick young spymaster who must foil the plans of an evil magician bent on stealing her throne. Full of pickpockets, top hats, tiaras, clockwork doodads, danger and romance.

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin
Young Adult crime noir published by Little Brown 01 Feb 11

Clever goes a long way with me.  If an author gives me clever, I’ll be honest, they’re about halfway home right out of the gate.  And that’s precisely what Sean Beaudoin’s third young adult novel is: clever.  How much readers will enjoy it, I suspect, will have everything to do with how many of the jokes they get.

What the author has done is taken many well-worn pulp crime noir tropes and dumped them in a YA world.  Instead of a crime-riddled city?  Yep, a high school.  Instead of corrupt politicians?  Corrupt school faculty.  Instead of gangs fighting over a piece of various illegal rackets?  Cliques, of course!  And instead of a world-weary gumshoe, you have our hero, a teenage kid who has read one too many crime novels.

Dalton Rev has just transferred to Salt River High to take on a new case.  Find out who murdered “The Body.”  The police are calling Wesley Payne’s death a suicide, but that doesn’t explain why he’s found duct-taped, upside down, to one of the football goal posts.  Hired by a fresh-faced girl next door, Dalton soon finds himself knee-deep in the complexities of life at Salt River.  Where the two main players are The Balls (the jocks, naturally) and Pinker Casket (the rockers).  Can Dalton find the killer before all the cliques start eating each other alive?

What this book has is a pretty decent mystery, enough slang to choke a Valley Girl, and so many shenanigans that in real life these kids would be locked up in Juvenile Detention, the key not just thrown away but dissolved in battery acid.  It’s not a story one takes seriously, at face value.  I’m not sure we’re that morally bankrupt as a society (just yet anyway).  But as a slick send-up of pulp novels, the absurdity of high school cliques, and snappy dialogue to boot?  That’s hard for me not to like.

However, it’s not perfect.  There is a boat-load of slang here, a lot of it very funny and really smart, but readers with a low tolerance for this sort of thing won’t make it past the first chapter.  Also, the author bites off a bit more than he probably should have.  There are a ton of cliques in this book, with more than a few of them just getting a cursory mention. There’s a very smart “clique index” included (along with a slang glossary), but for things of this ilk, the author loses points when I have to refer back to it to decipher who is who – which I did a few times with the outer edge cliques.  The flow of the story would have been better served by cutting out some of these “lesser” cliques and tightening up the focus on the secondary players.

I also think that while this book can be enjoyed on its own, I do think it helps tremendously to have a crime-fiction reading background.  Frankly, you just “get” more of the jokes.  And that leaves me wondering if what we really have here is a YA book written for adults.  Could non-crime reading teens enjoy this book?  Oh sure.  But not nearly as much as the teens who have pilfered grandpa’s Mickey Spillane novels.  Or adult readers who spend an exorbitant amount of time in mystery sections of bookstores and libraries.

Which probably goes a long way in explaining why I enjoyed it so much.  It is smart.  It is clever.  It puts a glossy shine on pulp crime noir while remaining true to the many elements that make the genre so much fun.  Does it help to already be in the club?  Sure.  But I won’t be surprised if You Killed Wesley Payne initiates more than a few new members.

Grade: B+

Summary:

He’s come to do a job.
A job that involves a body.
A body wrapped in duct tape found hanging from the goal posts at the end of the football field.

You Killed Wesley Payne is a truly original and darkly hilarious update of classic pulp-noir, in which hard-boiled seventeen year-old Dalton Rev transfers to the mean hallways of Salt River High to take on the toughest case of his life. The question isn’t whether Dalton’s going to get paid. He always gets paid. Or whether he’s gonna get the girl. He always (sometimes) gets the girl. The real question is whether Dalton Rev can outwit crooked cops and killer cliques in time to solve the mystery of “The Body” before it solves him.

Read an excerpt.

Ash’s review of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Young Adult Paranormal published by HarperCollins 15 Feb 11

With me, a book doesn’t have to have the best writing, it doesn’t have to be deep and thought provoking. In fact, I don’t like those books much. I want to be happy when I turn that last page, and The Body Finder left me very happy and wanting more.

The big thing is that I like Violet throughout the whole book, even when she is doing stupid things. Or ignoring the obviousness of her best friend’s feelings for her. Violet’s relationship with Jay is a big part of the story, and, of course, that makes me happy. I always worry that young adult books won’t give me the amount of romance I like in a book, since they are for teens, but it’s just right in this one. The scene where things change between them is perfect in its own innocent way. Plus, I am a sucker for friends-to-lovers plotlines.

Violet’s ability to find bodies is not an easy one and she could have been a whining teenage girl, but she handles it surprisingly well. The premise of what she does works because it is so simple to understand, but the way it works for Violet keeps it interesting. For example, each body has its own scent, sound, or sight that only Violet can sense. Violet doesn’t get any more information, so there is plenty of mystery. Kimberly Derting doesn’t shove a ton of stuff down your throat. Violet just happens to be a girl who can find where bodies, human or animal, are.

With me, young adult books seem to either have too much story or not enough. I took a chance and bought The Body Finder and I’m glad I did. It’s the newest addition to my keeper shelf and I am ready to start the second book.

Grade: A

Summary:

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world… and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer… and becoming his prey herself.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Liviania’s review of Unraveled (Intertwined, Book 2) by Gena Showalter
Young adult urban fantasy released by Harlequin Teen 31 Aug 2010

I like Gena Showalter.  But even an author you really like can write a novel that doesn’t quite work for you. Unraveled falls into that category.  There were parts of it that I enjoyed, but the book felt like it was standing still.

When I reviewed Intertwined, I noted that it had a huge cast of characters and that many of them were underdeveloped – especially those of the voices in Aden Stone’s head.  As Intertwined focused on one of the voices, I expected subsequent novels would do the same.  But Aden’s three remaining voices are mostly shoved to the side in Unraveled.  Poor Caleb gets close to the limelight, but doesn’t get any answers because the other characters don’t have time to figure out anything about his past other than the fact he’s connected to the witches harassing them.

The end of Intertwined introduced the witches, who placed a death curse on Aden, Mary Ann, Victoria, and Riley.  The beginning of Unraveled introduces the fairies, who loathe the vampires.  Aden kills the fairy who tries to kill him and then must hide his deed.  Both of these plots need to be dealt with, but there are also lingering issues from Aden becoming the vampire king.  He needs a vampire queen and they won’t let him pick Victoria without considering other girls first.  Plus, he has to wait to be crowned since the old king might not be dead yet.

The vampire plot takes up most of the novel, with the witch and fairy plots periodically showing up before Aden again turns his attention to the vampires.  (He pretty willfully ignores that he should do something about his therapist.)  That is until the witch and fairy plots take over for a big fight scene to finish the novel.  The witch plot does get a bit more attention when the novel focuses on Mary Ann.  She’s finding out that her ability to dampen other’s abilities might not be that innocent.  She’s also trying to hide the extent of her relationship with Riley from her father.

I liked the development in Mary Ann and Riley’s relationship, as Victoria and Aden’s still fills kind of shallow.  They do have some good scenes together as well, however.  That’s the whole problem with Unraveled.  There are good scenes, but it’s all kind of shallow.  There’s too much going on.  Showalter never focuses on one thing long enough for me to feel invested.  Every time she sucked me in she pushed me right back out to moving on to something completely different without offering any resolution.

I may continue this series just because I like Showalter, but I vastly prefer her Lords of the Underworld series.  She does a much better job there of setting up plots that run through multiple books while still developing and resolving a single book plot.

Grade: C-

Summary:

Since coming to Crossroads, Oklahoma, former outcast Aden Stone has been living the good life. Never mind that one of his best friends is a werewolf, his girlfriend is a vampire princess who hungers for his blood, and he’s supposed to be crowned Vampire King—while still a human! Well, kind of.
With four—oops, three now—human souls living inside his head, Aden has always been “different” himself. These souls can time-travel, raise the dead, possess another’s mind and, his least favorite these days, tell the future.

The forecast for Aden? A knife through the heart.

Because a war is brewing between the creatures of the dark, and Aden is somehow at the center of it all. But he isn’t about to lie down and accept his destiny without a fight. Not when his new friends have his back, not when Victoria has risked her own future to be with him, and not when he has a reason to live for the first time in his life….

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

Ash’s Duckies Do Series Review of The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Young Adult Science Fiction published by Scholastic Sept 08 – Aug 10

I’ve been wondering for days how to write this review, because I don’t think I can do these books justice. Suzanne Collins is an amazing author, and these books are some of the best I’ve read.  There is also no way for me to avoid spoilers, so be warned.

The Hunger Games
14 Sep 08

These books are one long, intense, heartbreaking journey. What starts here does not stop until the very end of Mockingjay. Right away I was drawn into Katniss’ life, her thoughts, her relationships. She is a strong character and it’s easy to root for her. The idea of children fighting to the death as entertainment is truly awful, having to see it through Katniss’ eyes makes it even worse. Watching her change from a teen who supports her mother and sister to someone who will kill to stay alive is at times agonizing. When she holds and sings to another girl who lies dying, I lost it.

Then there is Peeta. When I read this book the first time, I was Team Gale (her friend and hunting partner) all the way. The second time around I’m able to see just how special Peeta is. He is the heart of this series. At the end, which is really just the beginning, Katniss doesn’t yet know about the war that is brewing. Or that she will be the catalyst to set it off.

I think the build-up to book 2, Catching Fire, is done perfectly.

Grade A+

Summary:

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games.” The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.

Read an excerpt.

Catching Fire
01 Sep 09

As much as this book is a bridge between The Hunger Games and Mockingjay, it also stands on its own as a very important part of the story. Katniss doesn’t get a break and neither do the readers. There really is no rest for Katniss and Peeta, they have to go on their victory tour and they find out just how evil President Snow is when he calls for previous winners to go back into The Hunger Games.

One of the things with this series is that no one is safe. Suzanne Collins is not afraid to break hearts and one of the deaths I was most upset about happens in Catching Fire. Cinna is Katniss’ stylist, and he seems to be the only one who she’s able to be real with. He might have been in with the Rebels, but I feel like he saw her as more than a weapon against the Capitol. His death is one that, up until the end, I was hoping wasn’t real.

Peeta is still there by her side, and by this book I am desperately hoping that they get a happy ending together. Katniss also has to deal with Gale, who wants her to pick him over Peeta.

The cast gets bigger, we meet more of the previous winners and we get to like a few of them. Of course, it just sets us (and Katniss) up for more heartache This is the book when Katniss starts to get mad and we see her changing yet again into a soldier.

Grade: A

Summary:

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

Read an excerpt.

Mockingjay
24 Aug 10

Mockingjay is everything I was hoping for — and a lot I wasn’t. Things are just a mess and Katniss is right in the middle of it.

Peeta is being held captive by the Capitol and the war is going on stronger than ever. In this book I didn’t like who Katniss becomes, though after what she has been through it’s almost expected. Everything has just become too much at times and her mental health is definitely suffering. I think losing Peeta made her lose a part of herself, even if she doesn’t realize it. They became a team, and I felt his absence from the book just as much.

Then we get Peeta back and he is damaged, badly. The torture he’s put through has left its mark and seeing him and Katniss fighting each other is hard. Like I said, Peeta is the heart, but here he is finally broken down. The way Katniss deals with Peeta (and some other things) makes me hate her at times. He deserves better, and by the time she figures it out, I wanted to shake her.

While this is going on, they are fighting away. Katniss goes into battle and plays her role as the face of the Rebels in District 13. It’s hard to see who the good guys are, District 13 looks like it is just the lesser of two evils. The prove they will do whatever they have to in order to win, and in the end it’s the people who suffer. Both sides are lacking morals, and it makes things that much harder on Katniss.

There is also another death that leaves its mark with me, though not the same one that effects the story the most. Fellow Hunger Games victor Finnick becomes a casualty of war. I actually found myself days later thinking of a funny scene with him, and then getting sad when I remembered he died.  In the end the Capital is taken down, but  no one really wins.

My one complaint with this book is the epilogue. I wanted more closure with some of the other characters. I was ecstatic to see Peeta and Katniss together in their future, but I grew to love all the other characters. I wanted more of them, to know what happened to them. Especially Gale and Haymitch (who, though I have left out of this review, is a major character, another one I loved and hated). With Gale, I am hoping he is happy in the future and still in touch with Katniss. though I got the impression that isn’t the case. While I wanted Peeta to be the one she chose, I couldn’t not like Gale. If Peeta isn’t in the picture, I would have wanted her to end up with him.

Sadly, as great as all the books were, I’m left wanting more of the one thing I was hoping for.

Grade: A

Summary:

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

Read an excerpt.

There is a ton of things I left out, there is no way I can cover it all. So much happens, so I focused on what stuck with me the most, even then I left out so much, since I could probably write pages about my thoughts on this. I can’t say this is a happy series, it is basically one traumatic event after another. People I care about died, I got angry, I cried, I hated the characters, and I loved them all at the same time.

Then there are the bright moments, the relationships, the jokes and happy times. These books are keepers, but I don’t know if I will be able to read them again and put myself through this emotional ride. I do know that if you haven’t read these books, you are missing out on an incredible tale. The pain is worth it, and days later I am still thinking about these characters.

Overall Grade: A+

Liviania’s review of My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers, Book 2) by Rachel Vincent
Young adult urban fantasy released by Harlequin Teen 29 Dec 09

My changing feelings about Rachel Vincent’s novels have been well documented on the internet.  What has been less documented is the fact that sometimes I read other people’s reviews before I write my own.  Sometimes it sharpens my focus, other times it confuses me.  For My Soul to Save, it was the latter situation.

I expected more comments about the dark ending.  I expected remarks about the social satire and thinly veiled barbs aimed at Disney, which are particularly well-timed given the public meltdown of Lindsay Lohan.  I expected comments about the gender politics.  I just didn’t expect all of the comments about the gender politics to be completely opposite of my own observations.

Many reviewers dislike Vincent’s banshees because they are hysterical women who can only be calmed by a man.  I can get behind that being a bad subtext.  Now, I can’t blame Vincent for Kaylee, as a banshee, being a screaming woman.  Bean sidhe means female fairy.  Banshees wail before deaths in the common folklore.  The man part is Vincent’s invention, so that’s what I’ll focus on.

First, Kaylee doesn’t need boyfriend Nash to stop her wailing.  She did in My Soul to Take because she had no clue what she was or how to use her powers.  Now Nash’s mother is teaching her to control her wail, she can let it out a little at a time instead of becoming hysterical.

Second, I see Vincent’s banshees not as an interesting take on gender dynamics, since the females have the most agency.  Kaylee can interfere with a Grim Reaper on her own.  She can cross over into the Netherworld on her own (perhaps unwisely).  The only thing she can’t do on her own is prevent someone’s death.  Nash, and all of the male banshees, have no power without a female banshee.  He can’t direct a soul back into a body without Kaylee’s wail.  He can’t even do that often, since it pisses Reapers off and causes someone else to die.  Males only have power thanks to the females, and even then they rarely get to use it.

But really, subtext is subtext.  What about the text?  My Soul to Save is an interesting and well-presented story.  When Nash’s deceased brother Tod’s girlfriend Addison sold her soul, she had no idea what she was getting into.  Now Nash, Tod, and Kaylee are trying to save her – unfortunately, Addison was destined to die young.  And not even Kaylee’s wail can prevent her death since she has no soul.  There are clever plans in abundance, selflessness, and a nice sense of urgency.  But hoo-boy is the ending dark.

Maybe I’m deluding myself about the gender issues, but I like my interpretation.  If I thought the series was down on women I would not be nearly as excited as I am for book three.

Grade: B

Summary:
When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.
So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn’t wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can’t cry for someone who has no soul.

The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad’s ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend’s loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can’t possibly understand.

Kaylee can’t let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk….

Read an excerpt here.

Liviania’s review of Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters
LGBTQ Young Adult released by Knopf Books for Young Readers 8 Sept 09

Julie Anne Peters is known for writing novels about LGBTQ teens.  While the main characters of Rage are lesbian or bisexual, it’s not a focus of the story.  Johanna and Reeve are both out and comfortable with their sexuality, though every once in awhile someone says something derogatory to one of them.  The focus, instead, is on their emotional issues caused by unstable family life.

I’ve read books about abusive relationships before.  Alex Flinn’s Breathing Underwater is an excellent look into the head of an abuser, and her Diva an equally interesting portrait of the girl recovering from the relationship and beginning new ones.  Sarah Dessen’s Dreamland is an equally compelling look at a girl and why she would stay with the guy abusing her.  Rage plays with the formula by making Johanna not an ordinary girl fighting to stay with her abuser, but a girl who was severely damaged before she even entered the relationship.

When the book begins, Johanna has been fantasizing about Reeve as an escape to her life.  Her mother and father are dead; her sister stayed at college while she cared for their dying mother.  At the crucial point when she needed Tessa’s support, her sister said nothing.  With that trust broken, the only person she can rely on is her best friend Novak.  But Novak’s dating a scummy guy, and pretty soon her relationship with Johanna is on the rocks.  And Johanna’s fantasy relationship is about to become a reality.

Reeve had an abusive father, and now she’s left with her druggie mother and abusive uncle.  She also has to care for her autistic twin brother.  She’s grown up with only Robbie’s love, and she’s best at using people.  She isn’t the classic abuser, trying to keep Johanna under her thumb.  Reeve wants to push Johanna away because she understands the relationship isn’t healthy.  I half expected Johanna to erupt into a rage of her own, the psychopath upset that the reality isn’t her ideal.

Despite being almost 300 pages, Rage felt a little thin.  Rage is a psychological novel, and there’s little going on aside from a series of interconnected relationships.  It’s in Johanna’s point of view, but I still found her the most opaque character.  I understand her on a logical level, but not an emotional one.  (It’s hard to explain.) However, the supporting cast helps out by being engaging.  I can’t help but wish for more of Novak in the novel.  She’s a magnetic presence, even when her actions are repulsive.

Rage can be enjoyed even by those who dislike lesbian content.  The only actual sex scene is done subtly, and Johanna’s (explicit) fantasies are clearly marked by heading and italics.  For those who have been in abusive relationships, Rage may contain triggers.  Other than that, it’s extremely interesting on a psychological level.  But for those who prefer plot-driven fiction to character-driven, it might not be the best choice.  I have not read Peters before, but I would be willing to try one of her other novels out based on Rage. (Edit: Just looked at the author bio and I know I’ve read Define “Normal.” But it’s been a long time and I remember nothing.)  She seems to have a strong understanding of the way teenagers really act, always a bonus in YA novels.

Grade: B

Summary:
Johanna is steadfast, patient, reliable; the go-to girl, the one everyone can count on. But always being there for others can’t give Johanna everything she needs—it can’t give her Reeve Hartt.

Reeve is fierce, beautiful, wounded, elusive; a flame that draws Johanna’s fluttering moth. Johanna is determined to get her, against all advice, and to help her, against all reason. But love isn’t always reasonable, right?

In the precarious place where attraction and need collide, a teenager experiences the dark side of a first love, and struggles to find her way into a new light.
Read an excerpt here.

Liviania’s review of Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Young adult released by Delacorte 22 Sept 09

I’ve got to admit: I actually don’t like the Gemma Doyle books that much.  I know, I’m a young adult fantasy lover with a thing for strong heroines.  But in the end, Libba Bray left me somewhat cold with her bestselling trilogy.  Going Bovine, on the other hand, is a cow of a different color.  It’s an absurdist, magical realist, road trip adventure about a guy with a fatal illness.  Bray takes something that should be depressing and turns it into a clever satire with plenty of laughs.

The narrator Cameron hits all of the right notes.  He’s your basic, unambitious sixteen-year-old boy.  It’s kind of sad that the blurbs give away that he’s been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jacob’s disease (Mad Cow for humans), as it builds slowly in the novel, with Cameron having no clue what’s happening to him.  What follows is the saddest part of the novel, as Cameron slowly loses more and more control of his body in the hospital.

Then he meets an angel named Dulcie who tells him to set out with his roommate, hypochondriac dwarf Gonzo, and find Dr. X before he destroys the world.  It is a trip that will end up involving jazz, bland smoothies, a band even bigger than the Beatles, and the Norse god Baldur trapped in the form of a lawn gnome.  (Baldur tends to steal the show.  But hey, he is a god.  Perhaps.)  That is, if Cameron actually goes on a trip at all.  Wherever he goes, the fire giants still manage to find him and cause him unimaginable pain.

Whenever I read a book with a premise like Going Bovine’s, I always wonder if the author will have the guts to kill off the main character in the end.  And with Cameron, you really do wonder if Bray will have the guts to kill off such a great character.  He begins the novel going nowhere, but by then end he’s clearly going somewhere.  Deadlines do work wonders on high school students.

In addition to the character development, humor, and crazy adventure, there is (as mentioned) excellent satire of modern adolescence.  Going Bovine will be particularly entertaining to anyone who dislikes MTV and its slate of reality programming.  There’s also some fun stuff to learn.  Perhaps Going Bovine will cause someone to become interested in physics.  There are also physics Easter eggs.  For instance, there is an important band known as the Copenhagen Interpretation.  The Copenhagen Interpretation relates to quantum physics in some way.  (I wasn’t paying attention when the TA mentioned it.)

I still don’t like the Gemma Doyle books, but now I feel like I’m a Bray fan.  She pulls off dark humor with a heart, which is a feat for any author considering the distance between the two.  And for those who can’t do without it, there’s also a bit of romance.  Let’s not forget that Cameron is sixteen years old.  Any truly great adventure has to involve a girl.  If the girl is a punk angel . . . well, that just makes it even more awesome.

Grade: A+

Summary:
Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.
Read an excerpt here.

Liviania’s review of (Re)cycler by Lauren McLaughlin
Young adult released by Random House 26 Aug 09

I read Cycler because I enjoy novels that tackle gender issues, but I found it disappointing.  But when Sybs asked me to review (Re)cycler, my basic reaction was, “Why not?”  I’m glad I did that, because this is one sequel that is far better than its predecessor.  I recommend skipping Cycler and going straight to (Re)cycler.  It might be a little confusing, but Lauren McLaughlin does a fine job of summarizing what came before.

First improvement?  Jack gets something to do.  He’s no longer stuck in a room with nothing to do but read porn.  Instead, he’s trying to find friends despite the fact he’s never been socialized.  He did get secondhand experience from Jill, and quickly finds himself reacting to situations like a girl rather than a teenage guy.  While struggling with his masculinity, his relationship with Ramie becomes more strained as she follows her own interests and dreams.  (And I think Ramie may have some interest in Jill that causes frustration.)

As for Jill, she’s been separated from her boyfriend and finds herself in control of her body for shorter and shorter periods of time.  It’s a nice reflection of the way she’s trying to take control of her body by losing her virginity.  It’s a prickly topic that I don’t want to get into in a book review, but McLaughlin does a very good job of showing how girls are supposed to be good and supposed to put out and how it becomes more complicated when you’re taught your first time should be special but also that you shouldn’t make a big deal of it because then you’re letting the patriarchy win.

And here’s another advantage of both Jack and Jill being out: wacky hijinks.  (I’m surprised that no one thinks Jack/Jill is a crossdresser.)  The change between the two has become a lot more fluid, which leads to a lot of awkward situations, including Jack getting stuck naked in an alley.  It’s often ridiculous, but it falls on the side of funny rather than stupid.

(Re)cycler is a great examination of what it means to be in your late teens and deciding who you are.  Jack wants to be a man’s man, but he’s doesn’t really know what that means and is uncomfortable with the fact he’s subconsciously gendered female.  Jill wants to be feminine, with a proper romance and everything, but worries that she can never be a real girl since she does share a body with a guy.  I like that both of them are somewhat scared of Jack’s relationship with Jill’s boyfriend, Tommy.  (I do miss Tommy being on the scene, though there are several interesting new characters on the scene.)

I hope there’s a third book in the series.  I feel there are enough ends left open to justify it, even if (Re)cycler‘s conclusion is much more solid than Cycler‘s.  McLaughlin has matured her characters into people I’d like to spend more time with, in addition to improving her presentation of ideas.

Grade: B+

Summary:
How do you grow up, if who you are keeps changing?

Jill McTeague is not your average high school graduate, she’s a scientific anomaly. Every month for four days she turns into Jack, a guy—complete with all the parts. Now everyone in her hometown knows that something very weird is up with her. So what’s a girl (and a guy) to do? Get the heck out of town, that’s what! With her kooky best friend, Ramie, Jill sets out for New York City. There both she and Jack will have to figure out everything from the usual (relationships) to the not so usual (career options for a “cycler,” anyone?).

As in Cycler, the first book featuring Jack and Jill, author Lauren McLaughlin deftly weaves the downright mundane with the outright bizarre in a story that, while defying classification, is peopled with characters that readers can fully relate to.
Read an excerpt here.

Hello!   Today NYT-bestselling author Libba Bray is visiting the Pond on her Going Bovine tour, between stops to Teen Reads and YA Books Central.

Going Bovine is Libba’s fourth novel, following the successful A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing.  This Texas-born minister’s daughter now lives with her husband in New York, where she plays in a band in addition to writing.

I had fun with this interview due to Libba’s sense of humor – I couldn’t bring myself to delete her answers to the questions I didn’t have time to send her. You may notice some similarities to a Duck Chat. I think Sandy’s done a great job of making them emblematic of the Pond, so I asked permission to use some of her questions. But on to the interview! (After all, you’re here for that, not my babbling.)

L: Based on your blog and involvement in the all-YA-author band TIGER BEAT, music is fairly important to you.  What songs do you associate with Going Bovine?  Does music help you write or do you need a quieter environment?

LB: I’m a stone-cold music freak. A music nerd. A musicaholic. I love everything about it. And yes, music really helps me write. I make an iPod playlist for every project, and part of the writing process for me is trying to figure out what songs set the mood for the book. I’ll add and delete songs as I go along and get a better sense of what’s what.

For Going Bovine, I picked songs for Cameron’s life before he’s diagnosed and songs for the journey/quest he takes after his diagnosis. So, in the beginning, there’s Add It Up/The Violent Femmes (the ultimate adolescent angst rant) and Pompeii AM Gotterdammerung/The Flaming Lips, which gives me a sense of existential loneliness, of trying to outrun your demons. Later on, there are funny-weird songs, like Mama Told Me Not to Come/Three Dog Night. There are thoughtful songs: Pink Moon/Nick Drake and Trouble/Ray LaMontagne. There are songs that impart a sense of impending doom, like Klaus Nomi’s version of Purcell’s The Cold Song.

The last song on the playlist is Joy/Apollo 100. Isn’t that where we’d all like to end up? (Not necessarily in a discofied version of Bach but Joy for sure.)

L: What is sure to distract you from sitting down and working/writing?

LB: Being at home. I really need to get out to another space so I won’t see the laundry, hear the phone, check the refrigerator for food distractions. If I write from home, I need the company of other writers to help me focus.

L: Do you feel there is an artistic and/or technical difference between Going Bovine and the Gemma Doyle trilogy, beyond the obvious difference in genre and tone?

LB: Hmmm. I think I’d probably be the least qualified person to answer that as the writer. That’s really more of a reader/critical question, and if I’m in that head space, I’m not in a creative head space, you know? What I will say is that there are more obvious allusions in Going Bovine—Don Quixote, Norse mythology, Greek mythology, Ovid. But yeah. I’ll have to let others answer that.

L: Your popular Gemma Doyle trilogy is a paranormal period piece.  Going Bovine is contemporary and satirical.  You’ve published short stories in different kinds of anthologies, from 21 Proms to Vacations from Hell.  Clearly you’re comfortable switching genres.  Is there one you find easiest to write? Hardest?  What themes do you feel unite your works?

LB: Wow. Great question. I do love to switch genres. My husband (literary agent, Barry Goldblatt) once asked all of his clients whose career path they admired and I said, “Johnny Depp.” I love that he can just disappear into characters as far-ranging as Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd and Captain Jack Sparrow. I want to play in a big sandbox with all the toys. J Humor is probably the easiest thing for me to write, but a particular voice in humor—sardonic, surreal, absurdist. The hardest thing for me is linear thought. I am total stream-of-consciousness, often to my detriment. I like to weave in lots of plot strands but considering that I can’t even take an organized trip to the grocery store, this is a challenge. Plot takes a lot of work. A LOT of work. Argh.

As for uniting themes, I’d say most of the characters I write about are outsiders in some way. They’re loners who long to belong, to be a part of the world, but who secretly suspect that they will not be able to. They are afraid of their own messy human vulnerability.

Any resemblance to the author is purely coincidental.

L:  What genres would you like to explore in the future?  Do you think you’ll write a non-YA title in the future?

LB: I’d like to explore everything: Mystery, romance, horror, Haiku performance art in Pig Latin. Screenwriting. Playwriting. Everything. I really love writing YA. There is one adult novella I’ve been kicking around for about ten years. I hope to finish it before the next ten years are up. And at some point, I really would like to write another play. I love theatre.

L: Do you ever argue with your characters while you’re writing? Who usually wins?

LB: Oh yeah. And they flip me the bird and say, “Screw you. We’re doing it this way. And you know what? It’s going to take even longer to write this book because of it! Ha!”

L: If you could retire any question and never, ever have it asked again, what would it be? Feel free to answer it.

LB: Q: Where do your ideas come from?

A: I stole them from the last person who asked. And then I lay him/her in a shallow grave deep in the forest where no human ever goes. But that was a long time ago, and I’m in need of new ideas. By the way, did you tell anyone you were meeting me here today?

L: I’ve heard writers often say their stories take them in surprising directions, or dialogue flows from some unknown place. Is it the same with you? Do your characters surprise you sometimes?

LB: Oh, absolutely. The whole process surprises me. I’m always amazed by people who seem to be The Book Whisperers and who can prove to their books that they are the Alpha Writer who will be obeyed. For me, writing a book is more like a relationship between two strong-willed people. You each have illusions about the other, about how this thing is going to go, and at some point, you’re going to have those illusions challenged: One day, your loved one tells you he’s quit his job so the two of you can take an RV across America. And you think, “Are you insane? Wait, I didn’t sign up for this. This was supposed to involve a Craftsman bungalow and children who learn Chinese as a second language. Let’s stick to the plan.”

And he says, “Yes, but I don’t think you really want that. And neither do I. I think there’s something profound waiting for us out there.” He pats the side of the RV, and you feel slightly panicked. “Let me get this straight: You want me to abandon the plan we had and take a crazy, who-know-where ride in THAT? It says ‘Love Machine’ on the side in bubble letters, for Christ’s sakes! And who is that person in the clown suit? He scares me. We’ll probably need shots.” And your loved one offers you his hand and says, “Trust me.”

The temptation is to cut and run. To refuse his open hand and say, “No. We are not doing this,” and try to change the person into an accountant with a steady paycheck who works well on paper. But if I resist that temptation, if I allow the person to be who he is, if I have some trust and take the ride, he’ll probably show me who I really am, too.

I just try to be really open, to remove the blocks as they come up—and they do come up. They say that there should be conflict in your writing. I also think there should be conflict between you and the book. That you should feel a little scared by the book you’re writing. Otherwise, it’s probably not worth a damn.

L: I love the title Going Bovine.  Was it your title, Random House’s marketing department, or some other source?  Were any other titles considered?

LB: That one’s all mine. It’s funny with titles. It seems like they either spring from your head fully formed or you kill yourself trying to come up with them. That one sprang fully formed. Thank you, universe.

L: What has been your favorite book cover from all of your releases and why?

LB: Going Bovine. Trish Parcell Watts, who has done all of my covers, is fabulous, and I think she outdid herself with this one. I mean, she found an anxious-looking cow! How inspired is that? I think it does a terrific job of describing the book with minimal fanfare. Trish is so talented. I’m lucky to know her.

L: How about your least favorite cover?  What would you change to make it more palatable?

LB: My least favorite cover was the first cover concept for Rebel Angels. That first concept was a little slicker and magazine spread-ish, and I felt that it didn’t really fit the book. (Authors don’t get cover approval, by the way.) But we all sort of came to the conclusion that the cover wasn’t exactly right and that it needed to look stylistically like a companion to the first book. After much thought and consideration, Random House decided to go with the cover you see now, which was more in fitting with the tone of A Great and Terrible Beauty. Like I said, I think Trish does great work.

L: What’s it like to be part of the New York Young Adult literary scene?  It seems like there are a number of close relationships between the authors as well as a variety of events designed to get local teens reading.

LB: You make me sound like I lead a very glamorous life. The truth is, there’s a lot of laundry and early morning soccer matches and wondering what exciting things can be done to dinner.

But yes, there is a wonderful NYC YA scene. Maybe it’s that YA has been so marginalized by the adult writing community and many factions of the mainstream press (Really, if I read one more story that starts off with something along the lines of, “Well, I don’t usually bother reading that crappy, emo YA…” I will scream. Why is that okay? Why is it okay to denigrate an entire area of literature—and be wrong about it? But I digress.) but the young adult writing community tends to be pretty supportive of one another. We attend each other’s events. We publicize each other’s events and retweet those good reviews. I feel quite lucky to be part of such a great group of human beings, not to mention great writers.

David Levithan really should get a lot of credit for fostering these close relationships in the New York community. He’s the one who organized YA Author Drink Night once a month. And this year, he started the NYC Teen Festival, which was a success and will start up again next year. Sometimes, we writers get together to work; sometimes we get together to hang out and eat guacamole and watch movies and kvetch.

L: Which of your narrators do you empathize most with?  Who from your non-POV characters?

LB: Whomever I’m writing at the time. J

With my non-POV characters, I can relate to some of Gonzo’s little phobias and to Dulcie’s free-spirited delight in simple things and the Gorgon’s attempt to accept what is and Mrs. Nighwing’s desire to do the right thing. I’m glad I got to spend a fair amount of time with all of them.

L: Question about novel

LB: Answer about novel.

L: Question about novel

LB: Witty and profound answer about novel.

L: Question about novel

LB: Slightly contentious answer about novel with a smart, rhetorical question at the end.

L: What advice would you give to your younger self?

LB: Wear sunscreen. Also, seat belts. And don’t quit piano lessons.

L: 10 seconds on your blog (or a viewing of your book trailer) reveals a wild sense of humor.  What were your biggest comedic influences?  Do you ever worry about jokes falling flat or do you just blurt them out before you have time to overthink it?

LB: Sadly, I often blurt things out before I have a chance to think about them. It might explain my limited social pool.

My biggest comedic influence, hands down, was Monty Python. That just shaped my whole world. Also, National Lampoon magazine (especially the writing of Doug Kenney and P.J. O’Rourke), Saturday Night Live, The Carol Burnett Show, Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Robbins, Woody Allen, my parents, Mel Brooks, bands like The Tubes, movies like Harold & Maude, Spinal Tap, and The Graduate, drag queens, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Really, it explains so much about me. Like the uncomfortable laughter at my dinner parties.

L: If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

LB: “Libba Bray, the novel, is a wild, rollicking ride of odd quirks, strange delights, and quiet insights with an edgy punk beat you can dance to. But beneath the book’s gimlet-eyed quips and Absurdist humor lies a surprisingly tender heart concerned with the fragile beauty of trying to be fully human in an often inhumane world.”

L: What would be your “voice’s” tagline?

LB: It’s always the ministers’ daughters you have to watch out for.

L: If you had never become an author, what do you think you would be doing right now?

LB: I’d be a bitter alcoholic. Or dead.

Lightning Round:

- dark or milk chocolate? Milk
- smooth or chunky peanut butter? – Chunky
- heels or flats?  Converse. So, flats.
- coffee or tea? Both
- summer or winter? Both
- mountains or beach? Beach
- mustard or mayonnaise? Mustard. (Mayo. Eww.)
- flowers or candy? Candy flowers.
- pockets or purse? Pockets.
- Pepsi or Coke? Coke.
- ebook or print? PRINT!

And just because:

1. What is your favorite word? Redemption. Also, wow. I say “wow” a lot, I realize.
2. What is your least favorite word? I’m a writer. I don’t have any least favorite words.
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Everything. And music twice.
4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Mediocrity. And my own tendency toward artistic self-flagellation.
5. What sound or noise do you love? My son’s laughter
6. What sound or noise do you hate? Vomiting.
7. What is your favorite curse word? Motherfucker. (I’m smiling just typing it.)
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Musician or humanitarian aid worker.
9. What profession would you not like to do?  Submarine commander (claustrophobia)
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Great to see you again.

Thanks for visiting the Pond, Libba!

Liviania’s review of Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
Young adult released by Hyperion 7 April 09

I may be twenty, but I still enjoy young adult novels.  They’re usually quick, fun, and willing to experiment with genre.  And, like adult novels, I don’t really care whether one is aimed at guys or girls.  Carter Finally Gets It is definitely aimed at teen guys, but I think the girls could still enjoy it.

Carter’s your basic horny fourteen-year-old, starting his freshman year of high school.  (For the first bit, he’s your basic horny thirteen-year-old, which bothers me a little.  For some reason I’m much more cool with the idea of a fourteen-year-old being sexually active rather than a thirteen-year-old.  Of course, even then, I’m glad he doesn’t go past heavy petting in the book, because I think even fourteen is young for sex.)  He wants to be popular and get a hot girl, but doesn’t really know how to go about either.

I love that he kind of stumbles into both.  Carter gains glory through sports and is smart enough to date the girl who says she’s interested in him.  Unfortunately, he messes things up with Abby when he agrees to go out with the hottest girl in the grade.  Then he’s got to get the girl back.  I love that Brent Crawford isn’t afraid to allow Carter to be a jerk.  He’s just a kid; some of his decisions are going to be less-than-admirable.  But Carter always manages to redeem himself since he’s, in general, a good guy.

Now, while I say teen girls will probably enjoy this, I probably wouldn’t have liked this one much until I was an older teen.  But I’m sure there are others who would enjoy it just fine during or before their freshman year.  I think actual adults would enjoy it to, as long as they don’t mind reading about young teens.  It’s a very funny book.  Carter Finally Gets It relies on an engaging protagonist and humor to carry one of the world’s most basic plots.  And I don’t want to give away the end, but what happens after swim season ends is awesome.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Meet Will Carter, but feel free to call him Carter. (Yes, he knows it’s a lazy nickname, but he didn’t have much say in the matter.)

Here are five things you should know about him:

1. He has a stuttering problem, particularly around boobs and belly buttons.
2. He battles Attention Deficit Disorder every minute of every day…unless he gets distracted.
3. He’s a virgin, mostly because he’s no good at talking to girls (see number 1).
4. He’s about to start high school.
5. He’s totally not ready.

Join Carter for his freshman year, where he’ll search for sex, love, and acceptance anywhere he can find it. In the process, he’ll almost kill a trombone player, face off with his greatest nemesis, suffer a lot of blood loss, narrowly escape death, run from the cops (not once, but twice), get caught up in a messy love triangle, meet his match in the form of a curvy drill teamer, and surprise the hell out of everyone, including himself.

No excerpt found.

Liviania’s review of My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers, Book 1) by Rachel Vincent
Young adult urban fantasy released by Harlequin Teen 1 Aug 09

My changing position of Rachel Vincent’s adult series has been well-documented on both this site and my own blog. As I wanted to like it from the start and am thoroughly enjoying it now, I wanted to see what her young adult series was like. Plus, the ladies of TGTBTU got me reading Harlequins, and I wanted to see what the publisher would do with its new YA line. The verdict? My Soul to Take is a good start.

Kaylee has panic attacks. That is if, by panic attacks, you mean beginning to scream uncontrollably when encountering certain people. She’d like to keep this on the down-low . . . but now one of those people she was sure would die is dead, and no one knows what killed the girl. I’ll forgive quite a bit more in a teenage protagonist than I would in an adult, but Kaylee plays things pretty smart. She reaches out to people who seem like they could help, being cautious but realistic about being in over her head.

One of those people is uber-hot and cool Nash, who can calm her down when she’s panicking. He might know what’s going on, but Kaylee’s reluctant to trust him due to his playboy reputation. Seriously, I love how sensible Kaylee can be. She doesn’t instantly trust him, but nor does she instantly push him away. She works to get to know him. Watching them get closer together is fun. Yeah, they’re drawn to each other, but they don’t just rely on the magnetism. They talk. I do love them as a couple. (The ending does have interesting implications for the possible love triangle. Usually I love triangles, but I just think Nash and Kaylee are so cute together.)

As for the world-building, Vincent does a good job of combining her own mythology with the old Irish tales of bean sidhe. My Soul to Take focuses on the banshees and reapers, and I look forward to learning about even more powerful and dangerous creatures. I find it refreshing that Kaylee doesn’t rank that high on the abilities scale. What she can do is impressive, but rather specific and with numerous drawbacks. Vincent definitely doesn’t shy away from the potential consequences.

Kaylee and Nash don’t forget that they’re trying to catch a murderer. Things fall apart some, logically, once the culprit is revealed, but I still enjoyed the story. I could let the logic go some when I was enjoying the action and last minute reveals. I am eager to read the next Soul Screamers book, not just for the romance, but to see what happens to Kaylee’s family. I’d also like to see more of the world’s politics. Who knows what consequences Kaylee and Nash’s actions will have on interspecies relations? (Rachel Vincent, that’s who. And possibly anyone who has read her early drafts.)

Unlike the Werecats, Vincent has me hooked from the first book with this series. I also recommend reading the prologue, My Soul to Lose. It’s longer than many Nocturne Bites, giving ample opportunity to sample the writing style and decide whether you like the main character.

Grade: A-

Summary:
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SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH KAYLEE CAVANAUGH
.
She doesn’t see dead people, but…
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She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
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Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next…
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SOUL SCREAMERS
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The last thing you hear before you die…
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Read the prequel here.
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Read an excerpt here.

Liviania’s review of Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin
Young adult released by Random House 26 Aug 08

Lauren McLaughlin’s debut ambitiously approaches the concept of gender with a main character who cycles between female and male. It sounded somewhat weird but still cool to me, so I decided to give it a shot. In a double dose of unfairness, immediately after Jill becomes female again she gets to deal with her period, cramps and all. Jack only replaces PMS.

Unfortunately for McLaughlin, the issue I found more interesting in the book is not addressed at all. Cycler involves child abuse. The parents lock Jack in, becoming more and more oppressive. Instead of helping Jill come to terms with her unique biology, they teach her to hypnotize herself and forget everything she does as a boy. Without their actions Jack might not have even developed a separately personality; he could still be Jill in a male body.

That’s not to say McLaughlin shies away from interesting issues. Jill’s crush, Tommy, comes out as a bisexual to her, which does nothing to help her resolve her confusion regarding her gender identity. Jack falls for Jill’s best friend Ramie and his emotions sometimes bleed over. Of course, I wanted even more from these that I got in Cycler.

Jill and Jack’s pursuit of separate lives leads up to a big mess at prom, as must happen in any book set in the senior year of high school. (Really, nothing that exciting happened at my junior or senior prom, unless you consider people dancing to rap pulse-pounding action.) Then the book ends shortly after. The note at the back says a sequel is in progress but I still want falling action. What if Ramie or Tommy is attracted to both Jack and Jill? Do Jack and Jill have any idea how they live after the events leading up to and during prom? The end didn’t feel resolved to me. It felt like things were about to be resolved and then BOOM. No more pages.

Overall Cycler didn’t quite live up to my excitement. It was funny and I liked the characters, but I kept feeling like it had potential for more. I really hope there will be a sequel because I desperately want to see the consequences of the climax. Despite there not being a cliffhanger I feel like I was left hanging.

I feel I should also mention that while Jack and Ramie’s relationship is a little creepy (though there’s a revelation at the end that changed things a lot for me except I didn’t get to see how it affected the characters), Jill and Tommy’s is really cute. Jill uses an old-fashioned self-help book from her mom to try to get his attention. Not the best idea. Even with her cycle, Jill’s still a typical YA girl.

Grade: C+

Summary:
AS FAR AS anyone at her high school knows, Jill McTeague is an average smart girl trying to get her dream date to ask her to the prom.

What no one knows, except for Jill’s mom and dad, is that for the four days Jill is out of school each month, she is not Jill at all. She is Jack, a genuine boy—complete with all the parts. Jack lives his four days per month in the solitude of Jill’s room. But his personality has been building since the cycling began. He is less and less content with his confinement and his cycles are becoming more frequent. Now Jill’s question about the prom isn’t who she’ll go with, but who she’ll be when the big night arrives.
Read an excerpt here

Sandy M’s review of Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer
Young Adult Contemporary Paranormal Fiction Hardcover released by Little, Brown 5 Oct 05, PPB 6 Sep 06, MMPPB 1 Nov 2008

I finally got my first look at the Twilight Saga sensation that (almost) everyone’s gone crazy over.  With the movie only days away from release, I had to get this at least this first book read before checking out the film.  I always like a book better than the movie, too much is left out for the screen version, and that would definitely be so in this case. So much happens in this book they’d have to leave a lot of it out, so I want my own interpretation before seeing the spin put on it by the producers and director.

I have to say that the characters in this book are quite interesting, and I like the different take Ms. Meyer gives us on the vampire.  Of course, the best part of the story are Edward and Bella.  The beginning of their relationship when they first meet and Bella is unaware of his background is well done.  I so liked the scene in their science class when it seems to Bella that Edward can’t stand being near her for some unknown reason.  There’s not many things that can throw Bella, but that seems to put a dent in her self-confidence, even if it isn’t for long.  There are very few scenes like this in the beginning, though, and I found myself wanting to skip ahead, things are just so slow moving.

Once past that I found the Cullen family fascinating.  I liked the dynamic of the family, how they came together and how they’ve chosen to live separate from their kind.  Even though most of the family is glad Edward has found someone to love, Rosalie is made that much more interesting because of her attitude toward Bella.  Alice and her visions, which change as life changes, is another intriguing part of the story.

Things begin to pick up once family introductions are made.  Another favorite part for me is the baseball game the family played.  I had to chuckle for the reason they played during a thunderstorm.  And this is where the book really takes off and keeps moving until the end.  I like that the family sticks together in protecting Bella, especially when it’s another vampire who is causing the problems.  This part of the story is really terrific.

I’m always up for a good vampire story, and while Twilight is one of those, I’m not sure I see where all the hype came from.  At first I thought it’s the fact that it’s a young adult and since I’m a good number of years past reading those and it’s been some time since I have read YA, and since a good book is a good book, and since there are certain parts I really like and others that didn’t do much for me, this one has to go in the good column for me, not a keeper at all.

There are other vampire books I like much better and other books in general I’d rather see adapted for a movie.  At least it will be interesting to see what scenes were pulled to be used in the movie, which weren’t, and how well the actors portray the characters.  My biggest concern is how Edward will be portrayed.  He’s given such a wonderful description in the book, I’m not sure there’s an actor on the planet who can do him justice.

Grade: B

Summary:

Deeply sensuous and extraordinarily suspenseful, TWILIGHT captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.Isabella Swan+s move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella+s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife-between desire and danger.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Lil Sister’s review of Moonstone by Marilee Brothers
Young Adult Paranormal from Bell Bridge Books released 1 Aug 08

Note from Sybil:  When BelleBooks contacted me about their new young adult line, I was pretty sure they would be right up my lil’ sis’s alley. I was right. Read on for her 14 year old opinion . Yes I need to make her write longer reviews, feel free to ask questions and I will get you answers.

I thought Moonstone was a pretty good book. Allie acted like a normal 15 year old girl, just with psychic powers. Other than that she could be someone I go to school with and it added a layer to story I could relate too.

Marilee Brothers did a great job with the plot of Moonstone and bringing it all together. I’ll definitely be looking for her next book.

Grade: A

Summary:

A sickly mom. A tiny house trailer. High school bullies and snarky drama queens. Bad-guy dudes with charming smiles. Allie has problems. And then there’s that whole thing about fulfilling a magical prophecy and saving the world from evil. Geez. Welcome to the sad, funny, sometimes-scary world of fifteen-year-old Allie Emerson, who’s struggling to keep her and her mom’s act together in the small-town world of Peacock Flats, Washington. An electrical zap from a TV antenna sets off Allie’s weird psychic powers. The next thing she knows she’s being visited by a hippy-dippy guardian angel, and then her mysterious neighbor, the town “witch,” gives her an incredible moonstone pendant that has powers only a good-hearted “Star Seeker” is meant to command. “Who, me?” is Allie’s first reaction. But as sinister events begin to unfold, Allie realizes she’s got a destiny to live up to. If she can just survive everyday life, in the meantime.

Read an excerpt.

Liviania’s review of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Young Adult paranormal fiction released by Little, Brown Young Readers 2 Aug 08

I come from the generation that made Stephenie Meyer famous. I first read Twilight four years ago, when it was still an ARC. I was the second person who read it – a friend passed it on to me because she enjoyed it and knew I liked vampires. I enjoyed it and passed it on to another vampire fiction lovin’ friend. Now I wish I’d stolen it from the school because I’m sure the Twilight ARCs are collector’s items. It’s hard for me to think of this series as a cultural phenomenon. For me it’s still that book I read in the car one rainy afternoon. I will admit, I even skipped Eclipse because New Moon was kind of lame. (Jacob’s a werewolf?! You mean, I wasn’t supposed to figure that out in the last book?) Still, it’s hard for me to discuss Breaking Dawn because it is a huge deal to many of my friends. 

I started to speak with my ex-roommate about her reactions before Philosophy class started and random girls joined the conversation. This is an honors-only class. We secretly enjoy reading Plato because he’s . . . Plato. We openly enjoy reading Stephenie Meyer. While reading the novel, I discussed my reactions to the series with my current roommate. When I stopped reading, I discussed my reasons with a neighbor who stopped reading the novel even earlier than I did. It’s no Harry Potter, but the Twilight series is very much a cultural touchstone to me.

Now, back when I first read Twilight I knew it was a silly, pure entertainment value sort of read. Since then I’ve corrupted the experience by reading a number of essays that dissect the characters and their relationships. I realize that Edward is a bit sociopathic and his relationship with Bella reads as one that will grow to be abusive. When I read this paragraph in the first chapter, I got creeped out:

Very, very convenient—too convenient—that my truck would wheeze its last wheeze just weeks after Edward and I had agreed to our lopsided compromise, one detail of which was that he be allowed to replace my truck when it passed on. Edward swore it was only to be expected; my truck had lived a long, full life and then expired of natural causes. According to him. And, of course, I had no way to verify his story or to try to raise my truck from the dead on my own. My favorite mechanic—

On its own it’s fairly innocent. No one wants someone they love driving an old deathtrap. But Bella’s dissatisfaction with her new car and lack of choice of the model bother me as an indication of their relationship as a whole. Just because Edward gets to replace her truck doesn’t mean that Bella shouldn’t be part of the decision process. It is her truck.

Despite real world social observations marring my experience, I could almost take it. Then I reached the (SPOILER AHEAD) pregnancy scene and nearly lost my lunch. I actually found the story amusing in a train wreck sort of sense. But I’ll give you a brief sample of where I lost it, about halfway through:

Another shattering crack inside her body, the loudest yet, so loud that we both froze in shock waiting for her answering shriek. Nothing. Her legs, which had been curled up in agony, now went limp, sprawling out in an unnatural way.
“Her spine,” he choked in horror.

DOES NOT WANT. Also, SPOILER DONE. I’ll keep Twilight. Despite everything, I kind of like it. However, the sequels can be skipped, especially this one. I don’t mind giving it a chance so that I can talk knowledgeably about certain plot points with my friends, but cleolinda’s summaries are a great way to get the highlights with more humor and better writing.

Grade: DNF

Summary:
When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life-first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse-seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed… forever?

The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.
Read an excerpt here.

Liviania’s review of I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls, Book One) by Ally Carter
Contemporary Young Adult romantic suspense released by Hyperion 20 Mar 07

Cammie Morgan is on her way to become an elite spy, following in the footsteps of both her parents. She knows how dangerous those footsteps can be since her father never came home from a mission, but she’s still eager to use her abilities in the field. No one can follow a suspect like the “Chameleon.” While outside the walls of the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, she falls prey to her hormones when she meets Josh Abrams.

Josh is an ordinary student at the local Roseville High School. He’s not-so-typical in the fact he notices Cammie while she’s trying to hide. Flattered by his attention, Cammie uses her and her friends’ skills to escape the Academy and go on dates. Of course, it isn’t as easy to pretend to be a regular girl rather than a spy-in-training as Cammie thought. It becomes an even bigger problem since she doesn’t have even a vague understanding of boys due to being raised at an all girls’ school.

This works until you think about it.  Why is a group of girls training to be femme fatales utterly ignorant of boys?  I’m not saying they should be experts in seduction, but they should have basic skills for interacting with the opposite sex.  After all, males comprise the majority of the politically important – the Gallagher Girls are going to be doing the majority of their work with men.  Ally Carter developed a fun concept, but this quibble makes it sometimes hard to suspend disbelief.

I am predisposed to like I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You.  I love spy novels, particularly ones involving younger spies.  It allows for an interesting exploration of psychological elements.  I also loved that it had a female protagonist.  I like the Alex Rider series and similar, but sometimes I want something girlier.  While the Gallagher Girls novels aren’t my feminine spy novels of choice, I enjoy them and look forward to the next release.

For one thing, I like reading about the other Gallagher Girls as much or more than Cammie.  You have Liz, a brilliant scientist who leaves something to be desired in fieldwork.  The glamorous Bex worries about her parents, who may disappear like Cammie’s father.  Macey, the new girl, becomes part of the group slowly – and partially because of her knowledge of boys gained through heterosocial education.  The other girls who aren’t part of Cammie’s main group also show potential in their brief appearances.  The novels, in my opinion, focus a bit too much on Cammie when there’s an intriguing ensemble cast waiting to be explored.

Josh and Cammie have decent chemistry, but their relationship seems pretty doomed from the start.  To me, this undercuts the drama and emotional intensity.  No relationship built on such complicated lies could or should survive.  However, it’s extremely fun to watch the schemes the girls develop to learn more about Josh unfold.  Every girl wants friends like these.

Carter has a cool concept, but her execution isn’t the best.  Most of all, I wish for more of the girls’ friendship to be shown and less attention paid to a lackluster love interest.

Grade: C+

Summary:
The Gallagher Academy for Exception Young Women is a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school teaches advanced martial arts in PE, chemistry always consists of the latest in chemical warfare, and everyone breaks CIA codes for extra credit in computer class. So in truth, while the Gallagher Academy might say it’s a school for geniuses what they really mean is spies. But what happens when a Gallagher Girl falls for a boy who doesn’t have a code name?

Cammie Morgan may be fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti), but the Gallagher Academy hasn’t prepared her for what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a regular relationship with a regular boy who can never know the truth about her? Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but in her sophomore year, she’s doing something riskier than ever—she’s falling in love.

Read an excerpt here.

Limecello’s reviews of The Secret Circle Trilogy by L.J. Smith
Contemporary Young Adult romance released by Harper Teen Sep – Nov 92, re-released Jul and Dec 08

I own the original trilogy, and decided to review them for a number of reasons. First, I recently re-read them. Next (and more importantly?) Sybil has been pushing the Young Adult angle. Lastly, these books are being republished – the first volume is already out, and the second is coming out in December. Perfect timing, no? Getting to the point – I loved this series. I believe I originally read them shortly after they were published, and I was hooked. Written before the whole paranormal wave, these books toe the line between a contemporary and paranormal YA book. I’m almost surprised I like these books so much, because I generally can’t stand series that don’t have definite ending with each novel. These books, however, are just that good.

The Initiation (The Secret Circle Volume I)
Originally released 15 Sep 92, re-released 22 Jul 08 (with Part I, Vol. II)
[Ed.: Float your cursor over the book cover image to see the original 1992 cover.]

Cassie Blake is an unlikely heroine. She’s quiet, shy, and dreamy. She’s also in well over her head. Her mother picked them up and moved from California, to New Salem, Massachusetts. As if that’s not enough, Cassie has to start at a new school halfway through high school, where things are different, and seem a little wrong. She finds out the kids who live on Crowhaven road (where she also lives) – are witches. (Cassie actually accepts this very easily, having been on the receiving end of certain coven member’s powers.)

After the initial hazing Cassie experiences, the coven leader Diana steps in and becomes Cassie’s surrogate big sister, and best friend. Little does Cassie know, her summer crush is Adam, Diana’s boyfriend. (He’s absent for the majority of the first book.) The first books ends with Cassie just finding her footing, and finally being accepted albeit tentatively into the group.

Grade: B+

The Circle’s Power Has Lured Her Home…

Alone, Cassie must confront a shattering challenge: an ordeal that could cost her live or gain her more than she’s ever imagined…

Seduced by the Secret Circle, she’s initiated into the mysterious “in crowd,” a coven of young witches whose power has controlled New Salem for three hundred years.

Hopelessly in love with the coven leader’s boyfriend, Cassie risks falling prey to dark powers in order to have him. But if she does, her endless love could destroy the coven, New Salem, and her!

… And she will emerge the leader or perish!

The Captive (The Secret Circle, Volume II), Parts I and II
Originally released 15 Oct 92, Part I re-released 22 Jul 08 (with Vol. I) and Part II re-released 23 Dec 08 (with Vol. III)
[Ed.: Float your cursor over the book cover image to see the original 1992 cover.]

It’s now fall, and Cassie is truly embroiled in the politics of the coven, and school. Faye, Diana and Cassie’s nemesis spied Cassie and Adam saying goodbye, and is blackmailing Cassie. Even though Cassie is becoming more comfortable in her skin and with the group (have I mentioned that all the coven members are ridiculously attractive?), she still can’t quite believe her friendship with the popular kids.

However, Cassie has more important things to worry about – she has to find dates to the school dances, hide her attraction to Adam from everyone else, as well as the fact that Faye is blackmailing her, and discover the source of the black magic that is killing people in town. (First the girl who was supposed to be initiated rather than Cassie, the school principal, and a basketball star.) Everyone is getting nervous, and the “normal” humans are beginning to blame the coven members. Add to that all the coven business and ceremonies/celebrations, making Cassie one busy girl.

The final pages of The Captive culminate in both an end, and a beginning. The leadership vote is taken, and power shifts from good to evil, with Diana losing the coven leader status to Faye. Cassie is convinced she’s evil, and it seems her secret love of Adam is about to be revealed. It’s quite dramatic, and ensures you’ll read the last book.

Grade: A-

Can The Secret Circle Survive…

Lured into the most popular in-crowd imaginable, Cassie is intoxicated by her newfound strength, a power as addictive as it is perilous.

Caught between Faye and Diana’s consuming desires to use the coven’s mysterious force, Cassie turns to Diana’s boyfriend, Adam – and falls prisoner to her own dangerous love.

Bewitched by the promise of love through magic, Cassie captures Adam’s heart and upsets the delicate balance of power, unleashing a storm of fury no one anticipates.

… Or will the dark struggle of good, evil, and a tormented love consume them all?

The Power (The Secret Circle Volume III)
Originally released 15 Nov 92, re-released 23 Dec 08 (with Part II, Vol. II)
[Ed.: Float your cursor over the book cover image to see the original 1992 cover.]

I can’t decide if The Power or The Captive is my favorite in the series. In The Power, Cassie has become strong enough to stand on her own, and up to Faye. She also has a boyfriend – Nick – who might be my favorite character in the trilogy. (He may also be the least visible character in the series, sadly.) The coven finally has a tangible target – Black John has come back to life, and is determined to take over.

Cassie also has control of her supernatural powers. She can handle the elements, cast spells, and is able to communicate with Adam, and other powerful witches mentally. It’s nice to see most of the coven come together, and fascinating to see how Ms. Smith revives a witch hunt of sorts at the high school.

The ending is extremely well written and satisfying. I only wish there was some sort of epilogue describing what happened with the characters – who paired off, and how they’re doing. Parts of it were a bit cheesy, but there really are no lulls in the plot, which is impressive.

Grade: A-

In So Deadly A Battle…

United at last with Diana, mistress of her coven, Cassie must sacrifice her love for Adam to save the Secret Circle and the town of New Salem from the evil powers of the witch Faye.

Threatened by the possibility of her destruction in a final battle between good and evil, Cassie must hope that her supernatural gifts are strong enough to obliterate the powers of evil.

If victorious Cassie will win more than she ever dreamed. But if she and Diana fail, the Power will go to those who seek only to destroy…

… Can anyone triumph?

I think this series would really appeal to young adult readers – likely girls, but boys might enjoy it as well. There’s the heroine who is unsure, but comes into her own. It is Cassie’s journey from outsider to leader of the group, as it were. The Secret Circle is a typical coming of age story with a twist. The unpopular shy girl becomes the envy of her school. All the guys want her, and all the girls like her – and most importantly, falls in love. Throw in an evil father, power struggles, spells and crystals, and you’ve got yourself a winner. I’m glad these books are being republished, and I hope a lot of people enjoy them.

Overall Grade: A-

The books are being republished in two volumes – with The Captive split up between the two.

Aren’t the new covers quite clever?

This is a new YA novel hitting the shelves at the end of the month. I was somewhat surprised at the plot… is it just me or is this pretty original? What you think of it?

Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin

AS FAR AS anyone at her high school knows, Jill McTeague is an average smart girl trying to get her dream date to ask her to the prom.

What no one knows, except for Jill’s mom and dad, is that for the four days Jill is out of school each month, she is not Jill at all. She is Jack, a genuine boy—complete with all the parts. Jack lives his four days per month in the solitude of Jill’s room. But his personality has been building since the cycling began. He is less and less content with his confinement and his cycles are becoming more frequent. Now Jill’s question about the prom isn’t who she’ll go with, but who she’ll be when the big night arrives.

Shannon C.’s review of Little (Grrl) Lost (Newford series) by Charles de Lint
YA Urban fantasy released by Viking Juvenile 6 Sep 07

I love Charles de Lint. He’s remained a consistent favorite for me for many years. Every time I pick up an urban fantasy, I keep hoping for a de Lint-esque writing experience. He’s one of the few authors out there who really gives me a sense of wonder when I visit his world. Not all of his books are keepers — in fact, I’ve been on sort of a losing streak with the last few of his releases I’ve read — but none are godawful, except, possibly, Spirits in the Wires, which I choose to pretend never happened. But I do like the direction he’s been going lately with his YA stuff, so I was excited for this book.

I was actually quite pleased with LGL. De Lint does a great job of infusing the modern urban world with a true sense of wonder, a feeling that, if you looked out of the corner of your eye, you might actually encounter a fairy or a hobb somewhere. And as usual, he writes some of the best female characters out there, despite the fact that he is, well, a man. I loved both T.J. and Elizabeth, the girls in this book. Both felt very much like real teenagers, with their struggles and angst, and I was relieved that this was a very cheerful story that wasn’t bogged down by so much internal angst.

As usual, I loved the paranormal stuff here. The story mainly concerns Littles, six-inch-tall people who live between the walls of normal-sized people’s houses. There are other creatures that make appearances, too, from gnomes to hobbs to sentient animals, and all of them are unique and memorable.

The secondary characters are good as well. I fell in love with T.J.’s possible romantic interest long before she did, since he is such a cute proto-romance hero. We don’t get much in his POV, but what is shown of his character made me really like him. Other characters, like Hedley the Gnome, Bakro, a Feral (meaning not house-bound) Little, and Sheri Piper, a writer of children’s books who plays an important role in the story, are equally fascinating.

The only sour note that was ever struck was with Geoff, a boy T.J. meets at a bookstore who fails utterly to believe T.J.’s story about having a Little for a friend. He reacts, in my opinion, fairly reasonably if a bit rashly, and his head is bitten off for it. I didn’t think that was fair, and it annoyed me enough to bring the grade down.

This is very much a coming-of-age story, and it really works as such. I enjoyed reading it, and think it would be a good place for readers interested in Charles de Lint to pick up with his Newford books.

Grade: B

Summary:
When fourteen-year-old TJ and her family are forced to move from their farm to the suburbs, she has to give up her beloved horse, Red, but she makes a surprising new friend. Elizabeth is a Little, a six-inch-high punked-out teen with an attitude, who has run away from home to make her way in the world. TJ and Elizabeth the Big and the Little soon become friends, but each quickly finds herself in a truly life-threatening situation, and they are unable to help each other.

No excerpt is available.

Liviania’s review of The Ankh of Isis (Library of Athena, Book 2) by Christine Norris
YA fantasy adventure eBook released by Samhain 8 Jul 08

There are many books it would be fun to enter and explore, to be able to interact with favorite characters and experience events first hand. Of course, it would be fun in an abstract sense. No worries of how to get back out of the book or getting injured in the story. Megan Montgomery’s library of enchanted books is a duty. She protects their contents from those who would use the artifacts they contain.

I read The Ankh of Isis without reading the first book, The Crown of Zeus, first. From the story I can deduce that the first book’s adventure didn’t pit Megan and her friends against an adversary, but was instead time for them to learn about the books’ worlds and their rules. Archaeologist Sir Gregory was a wizard, who wrote books in which to hide magical artifacts. To leave a book, one must find the artifact hidden within it using a series of clues. While Megan is the Librarian, her school friends Claire and Rachel know about the library because they were with her when she discovered it and its secrets. The Ankh of Isis delivers this information smoothly, allowing the second to stand well on its own.

The story is a straightforward adventure. The girls suspect Mr. Hemmlich, a client of Mr. Montgomery, of searching for something and rightly so. The chase to the finish works well because Hemmlich is obviously obsessed and not listening to reason and the girls and his son will be stuck in the story if he reaches the ankh without them. Christine Norris uses Egyptian mythology well and the riddles seem to be of an appropriate difficulty. (That is, they’re tough, but recognizable to an Egyptologist and his son so that the story doesn’t bog down.)

The Ankh of Isis will appeal most to young adults and children reading above their age level (as most children that read for pleasure do). The romance between fourteen-year-old Diedrich Hemmlich and Megan is sweet and chaste. They’re just two good kids enjoying a summer crush. In fact, the sweet romance is an odd contrast to the villain Norris created. Mr. Hemmlich’s obsession with power leads him to harm children and be quite willing to kill them, despite the fact one of them is his son. While that familial connection gives Diedrich a reason to be on the scene, it causes some issues older readers will be more bothered by than younger.

I know that several years ago I would have no problem with the conclusion. Now I feel that Diedrich, at the book’s end, is burdened with a bundle of daddy issues and not much of a support network, if any. Norris touches briefly on the subject, but it’s a dark thing which doesn’t mesh well with the book’s light approach. Events at the end suggest a conspiracy that might be a threat to the Librarian, which would likely darken the tone of the series. As the series is though, the Hemmlichs seem like a case of too dark, too early.

Still, The Ankh of Isis is a fun adventure with light romance that young adults will enjoy. I know I’m likely to read book three when it arrives.

Grade: B-

Summary
Megan Montgomery is looking forward to a nice, quiet Easter holiday. No school, no homework, time with her friends. Then her father informs her Mr. Hemmlich, a potential client and archaeologist, is coming to stay with them for the entire week. Her dreams of goofing off go up in smoke—until Hemmlich arrives with his handsome teenage son in tow. Things are definitely looking up.

Megan’s excitement quickly turns to suspicion when Hemmlich starts asking questions about the manor and its builder, Sir Gregory. Is it just admiration for Sir Gregory’s work? Or could Hemmlich know about the Library of Athena, the secret room full of magic books hidden deep beneath the manor? It shouldn’t be possible.

But then again, if she can get sucked inside a book…
Read an excerpt here

Shannon C.’s review of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
Young adult fiction released by Candlewick Press 1 Jun 05

You know those stereotypes about bloggers being nerds who have nothing better to do than sit there and make fun of people on the Internets instead of, y’know, getting out there and having a life? That’s me, except I don’t live in my parents’ basement and I am perfectly capable of carrying on a normal conversation outside the Internets. But I have always been and still am a fat girl. My weight has been an issue for me all my life, and I know I’m not the only one who has ever suffered from weight-related anxiety. So I was curious to pick up this book when I learned it was about a fat teenager living in trendy Manhattan. And I found that I loved Carolyn Mackler’s storytelling. The book is honest–sometimes brutally so–but it really resonated with me.

Virginia Shreves is considered the odd duck in her family. Her parents are both successful workaholics, (her mom is even a popular teen psychologist), her brother Byron is the big man on Columbia University’s campus, and her sister Anais is currently in the Peace Corps. Virginia alone feels like the ugly duckling, the defective model. She’s always been heavy, she doesn’t share any interests with either of her bright, overachieving siblings, and her best friend, Shannon (which is a great name for a best friend, IMHO) has moved all the way across the country. When disaster strikes, the relationship Virginia has with the members of her family is strained, and Virginia has to figure out who she is and who she wants to be.

I’ll be honest. If I’d been reading a physical book, I would have chucked it very hard against the wall when I first started, after I read this passage.

The Fat Girl Code of Conduct

by Virginia Shreves

1.Any sexual activity is a secret. No public displays of affection. No air-kisses blown across the cafeteria. No carefully folded notes passed in the hall. No riding the moped in public.

2. Don’t discuss your weight with him. Let’s face it. You both know it’s there, so don’t start bemoaning your body and pressure him into lying, i.e., “What are you talking about? You don’t look fat at all.”

3. Go further than skinny girls. Find ways to alert him to this, such as slutty comments peppered into the conversation. If you can’t sell him on your body, you’d better overcompensate with sexual perks.

4. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever push the relationship thing. Everybody knows that guys hate discussing relationships, so make it easy on him. Same goes for dates to movies and school dances. Bottom line: Let him get the milk without having to buy the cow.

If it hadn’t been 3 in the morning when I read this, and if I hadn’t been staying over at my parents’ house (where, sadly, there is no Internet I can access from which to blog) I’m pretty sure I would have shouted, “Excuse me? What the hell kind of message is that to be sending to our teenagers?” But then I thought about why I reacted the way I did, and realized that it’s because for a lot of overweight girls, that is the way they actually think. I know people in real life who have said a variation on points 3 and 4 who are in their twenties. And after a while I started to appreciate that Ms. Mackler is, like Virginia, not sugar-coating things.

The book continues to be brutally honest, and it’s clear there are no easy solutions to the questions it presents. Virginia herself is also very honest with the readers about what she’s thinking and feeling. I wanted to smack her a few times, but in the end, she resonated perfectly and I cheered for her when she finally took those steps toward independence and self-actualization.

Over the summer, I have been taking a children’s literature course, and during that time I’ve come to realize how incredibly easy it is to mess up writing fiction for a younger audience. I don’t know how much this book resonates with actual teenagers, but it worked very well for me and I definitely recommend it to women of all ages.

Grade: A

Summary:

Virginia thinks the world of everyone but herself…………

Virginia Shreves has a larger-than-average body and a plus-size inferiority complex. She lives on the Web, snarfs junk food, and obeys the “Fat Girl Code of Conduct.” Her best friend and stuttering soul mate, Shannon, has moved to Walla Walla, Washington. Froggy Welsh the Fourth has succeeded in getting his hand up Virginia’s shirt, but she lives in fear that he’ll look underneath.

Then there are the other Shreves. Mom is an exercise fiend and a successful adolescent psychologist. Dad, when not jet-setting, or golfing in Connecticut, ogles skinny women on TV. Older siblings Anais and Byron are slim, brilliant, and impossible to live up to.

Delete Virginia, and the Shreves are a picture-perfect family. . . until a phone call changes everything.

You can read an excerpt here.

Shannon C.’s review of Life on the Move by Megan Reilly
Contemporary young adult fiction released by Samhain 29 Apr 07

I love it when a book packs the kind of emotional wallop that leaves me sitting in my chair well after I’m done, stunned into speechlessness. When that book is only about 150 pages long, I consider that amazing. A quick word of warning–this is a young adult novel, and it’s not an easy story to read, so people expecting a traditional HEA will be disappointed, but if that doesn’t matter so much to you, this is definitely worth a try.

Casey Smith has moved all her life. It’s just something she and her dad have done so often it’s routine. She’s expecting this time not to be any different, but it appears that now she may be putting down roots. She’s even reluctantly made friends with Ethan, a cute guy in several of her classes. But then one day there’s a knock on her door and everything she thought she knew about her life changed.

It’s important in first-person books that the reader like the protagonist. I really liked Casey. She felt like an authentic teenager, struggling with wanting to grow up and yet not wanting things to change at all. I thought that the relationship she had with her dad was incredibly realistic, even though they didn’t always get along. I could tell that she loved him, despite his foibles. And I liked that she was tough and yet secretly vulnerable.

Ms. Reilly does a great job with the other characters. We see them through Casey’s eyes, but that doesn’t diminish them. Casey’s dad in particular fascinated me, because he’s the type of character that should have deeply repulsed me but didn’t. I could see why he loved Casey, and it’s still obvious he has a lot of maturing left to do.

The love story here is really sweet, too. I thought that it might overpower the coming of age bits, but it really just added to them. I especially liked that Casey and Ethan got to be friends before deciding they wanted to be more, and Casey doesn’t spend the book acting like a boy-crazy twit.

I can’t really talk about the plot without giving spoilers away, but I will say that it all worked for me. The ending is uncertain, with one chapter of Casey’s life coming to a close. It’s kind of bittersweet, because, at least for me, I knew that Casey was really in a better place than she was in the beginning, but I felt for her uncertainties and her sadness about what the future would bring. Some readers might not like that nothing is wrapped up in a tidy bow, but that actually felt more realistic to me and I don’t know how the book could have ended any differently.

This is one of those books I don’t imagine will have caught many people’s eye, but I definitely recommend it.

Grade: A

     Summary: 

     Home is where the heart is. Until the truth comes knocking.

     Casey Smith and her dad move around a lot, so packing boxes, driving all night, and moving into a new apartment in a new town is nothing, well, new to her. While it’s weird that her dad is so restless, she’s never really minded before—after all, there’s nothing she can do about it.

     But this time is different. This time they’ve moved to a place where she almost fits in. She’s even made some friends, including Ethan, a gorgeous guy who could turn out to be more than just a friend—if only she could be sure she’ll have time to really get to know him.

     Just when her life is starting to have all kinds of possibilities, a knock comes on the door.

     And everything Casey has ever known is turned upside down.

     Read an excerpt.

You can read an excerpt here

I think this is the character my lil sis has decided she would be perfect to play in the movie based on The Clique – Summer Collection: Massie by Lisi Harrison (Poppy, 1 Apr 08).

No, I am not kidding, I think they are already filming, though, so she will have to dream of the sequel… You can get updates on the movie here.

And read an excerpt from Massie’s book here.   Go here for The Clique’s official site.

They’re apparently the hot thing in the YA set.  I haven’t seen any of these or read them.  Neither has the the lil sis, MUCH to her annoyance. I told her she is gonna have to slum it and buy them. I am hoping it is because they are novella’s – they didn’t ARC them and not because they sucked.

Of course… uh never mind… Think if I told her they are marketed to “ages 9 to 12″ her 14 year old self would stop reading them? WHAT? I get this angry call last night that some girl at school has this book and, omg, she doesn’t!  And how could I!

I mean really there is something so wrong with that, no? But I am not really awake yet to process it all.

     Massie gets BE-yoo-tiful: After Massie Block gets kicked off her high horse and out of her ultra exclusive Westchester riding camp, her parents force her to do the unthinkable-find a summer job. Not one for dog-walking or brat-sitting, Massie comes up with the ah-bvious solution: She’ll be a sales rep for the cosmetics brand Be Pretty. Massie fully hearts her new role as fairy gawdmother of makeup-until she discovers transforming LBRs into glam-girls takes more than a swish of her royal purple mascara wand.

Lawson’s review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J.K. Rowling
YA fantasy fiction hardcover released by Arthur A. Levine Books 21 Jul 07

Alright, I know, I KNOW, this is a romance blog and here I am talking about Harry Potter. What could I be thinking? I felt this book deserves to be discussed however. And really, unless you’ve been in a hole, hiding away for the last 10 years and have only just now gotten internet access and thus never heard of Harry Potter, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with blogging about the Boy Who Lived. Especially since Meljean Brook referenced Harry Potter (or rather He Who Shall Not Be Named) in Demon Angel. 

Just for posterity’s sake here’s the basic history of the series so far: Harry Potter is a legend in the wizarding world for being the only person to survive the killing curse. He was one year old when Voldemort attempted to kill him, but it backfired and Voldemort spent the next 10 years trying to come back so he could have world domination. Book 1 is Harry’s first year at Hogwart’s, a boarding school for witches and wizards. The next six follow his adventures, coming of age, and battles with Voldemort who goes from a spirit and less of a man to a restrengthened evil wizard bent, again, on world domination as soon as he can kill Harry Potter, ’cause it’s making him look really bad and he doesn’t like to be thwarted.

Like the other six, Harry starts off the book at the Dursley’s, his aunt and uncle, house in London during the summer vacation. He’s about to turn seventeen, the legal age for wizards, and he’s being moved to a safe house so that he can be protected from Voldemort. He’s being swept away by the Order of the Phoenix and of course there’s a massive plan and diversion.

Harry and six doppelgangers fly off in various directions and are set upon by Death Eaters, followers of Voldemort. There’s mass chaos, Voldemort figures out which one is the real Harry, but Harry gets away, but two of his friends die in the escape. No, I’m not telling who dies.

Harry gets to the Burrow, childhood home of his best friend Ron Weasly, where he, Ron and Hermione Granger plan to go off on one last quest given to them by their former headmaster Albus Dumbledore (he died at the end of Book Six) which could help stop Voldemort once and for all. First though, they’ve got to attend the wedding of one of Ron’s many older brothers, but in the confusion at the reception when they find out the Ministry of Magic has been compromised by Voldemort, the three friends escape and venture off to fulfill their quest.

Even though this is marketed to young adults, the series has always dealt with some very adult themes. Death is a big one, due to the deaths of Harry’s parents and Voldemorts constant fear of death. In defense of Harry there’s a lot of people that die in this one as well, and character’s acceptance of death is one thing that defines the good and the bad.

Harry’s coming of age is another theme that goes through all of the books. He goes from 10 to 17 over the course of the books and he has to deal with all the things a normal adolescent does: girls, acceptance, hormones, friendships and self discovery. There were times in the last few books where Harry got rather whiney, but that was rather absent in this one, even though he didn’t have his mentor, Dumbledore, there to help guide him.

Leadership is a big idea dealt with through many different things. Dumbledore’s leadership of Harry and Hogwarts. Harry’s leadership of his friends and those around him because of his legendary status. Voldemort’s leadership of his Death Eaters, his justice on the world and his ideas on how to deal with not only the wizards but muggles (non magical people). Even the fact that leadership is sometimes helping others do the work and you have to step up to do your part.

Rowling throughout the book references things from the series, though not huge things, but every thing seems to get tied in somehow, even if it seemed inconsequential three books ago. By the end it seems that Harry, as well as Ron and Hermione, have seen the world not as innocent children, but as people who have been through that process that everyone has to go through to get through life: adolescence.

Grade: A+

Summary:

The heart of Book 7 is a hero’s mission–not just in Harry’s quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man–and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore’s warning about making the choice between “what is right and what is easy,” and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling’s skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

No excerpt available.

Other books in the series (mass market or trade paperback linked where available):

It’s Not Easy Being Mean by Lisi Harrison
review by: lil sis

It’s Not Easy Being Mean is one more great book in Lisi Harrison’s Clique Series. It is a lot of fun to read, keeps you interested and you won’t want to put it down once you pick it up. I really enjoyed it and have already read it 3 times, in a row! And I am getting ready for another reread to prepare for the next book.

This is my favorite of the series (so far) because it shows how the girls have changed since the beginning and they are all working toward a common goal. More importantly they are working together as a team to reach that goal. The ending will have you on the edge of your seat and wanting more.

I can’t wait for, Sealed with a Diss, the eight book in the series. It comes out in July!

Massie Block: Massie is the uncontested ruler of The Clique and the rest of the social scene at Octavian Country Day, an exclusive private school in Westchester County, New York.

Claire Lyons: Has finally arrived! She’s in the Clique and adored by super-cute Briarwood boy Cam. But will she be able to stay in Massie’s inner circle?

Alicia Rivera: As sneaky as she is beautiful, Alicia would love to take Massie’s throne one day. She just might do it.

Dylan Marvil: Divides her time between sucking up to Massie and sucking down Atkin’s shakes to try to get rid of the extra fifteen pounds that won’t seem to leave her butt alone.

Kristen Gregory: She’s smart, hardworking and will insult you to tears faster than you can say “scholarship kid.”

The Clique… The only thing harder than getting in is staying in.

I found an article in the QCTimes rather interesting, they were talking of Rowlings refusing ebooks. Being one of the 10 people who don’t care about Harry that isn’t what I find worth mentioning. But rather this quote from Barbara Marcus:

I didn’t think then, and I don’t think now, that there is a cool enough or interesting enough hardware to get the kids engaged,” says Barbara Marcus, president of the children’s books division of Rowling’s U.S. publisher, Scholastic, Inc.

Now far be it to say my little sister is average. And you can judge for yourself when I post her first YA review this Friday on the most recent book in The Clique series: It’s Not Easy Being Mean by Lisi Harrison.

But she already wants an ereader. You see they bought me an ebookwise for Christmas. So they had to open it and make sure it was charged and working. And the lil sis delighted in telling me on christmas day she played with my ebook reader for a couple of hours. She loved it. As did my grandmother who she showed how to work it.

We played with the idea of getting her an ebookwise for her birthday. But the selection of books for her age was pretty poor when I looked so we didn’t. If there had been more books out there for YA in eform we would have bought it.

And I can tell you that alone would have made at least 10 other ebookwise or ereader sales over the following few months. And that is just one middle school in Texas. With their IPODs, laptops, cellphones and digital camera’s, the biggest concern I see for marketing ereaders to young adults isn’t will they buy but how fast can Coach create something to carry it in.

Because… just in case you didn’t know… Dooney & Burke is just ‘so’ out.