"Lessons From a Dead Girl" by Jo Knowles

I squeeze my hand shut and hold our secret in it. Any time I start to wonder why on earth Leah Greene wants to be my best friend, I tell myself not to think about it.

Leah Greene is dead.
Laine doesn't know what to think, or how to feel. Should she be sad, for losing her F.F., friend forever? Should she feel relieved, because she wished Leah would die? Should she feel freed, from her past, from the doll closet, from Leah herself?

Laine hated Leah. Hated her for everything she made Laine do, for all the times in the doll closet. She didn't understand Leah, didn't understand why she did the things she did or said the things she said. And yet, Laine wonders how different the two really are, and who Leah really were.

As Laine tries to understand Leah and the tragedy of her death, she tries to also understand the lessons that Leah taught her, find their meaning, and find out if she can forgive the unforgivable.

"It will come off," I say, scrubbing harder. But even when my hand is almost raw, I still see some of the red marker.
I go back to my room and hug George again.
"We won't be friends forever," I whisper into his fur. "We won't."
But he keeps smiling, like he knows better.

First of all, I do not recommend this book to anyone under the age of fifteen. A lot of the themes are quite mature, and I don't think that I could handle this if I were any younger than I am now.

Moving on, however, I have to say that this was a very interesting book. It had different story themes than I've ever read before, and I really liked the complicated relationship between Leah and Laine. I actually thought that all of the relationships in this book were interesting, complicated, and well developed, except for possibly the ones with Web and Jess (which were well developed, but not as interesting.)
I liked how all the characters had their own motives and personalities, and how all of them acted like real human beings.

I have to say that the writing style was also quite amazing, and it really absorbed me. I liked how it was written in sort of a hopeless way, and at the end you're sort of handed a bittersweet and hopeful ending.  It's also nice because you don't have to wait too long to get to the ending- I read this book in probably about 45 minutes.

Overall, it was an excellent book for older readers.

"I'm not afraid of you," I lie. "I just think I should get back."
And I don't want to play your games.
"I think you're afraid."
"Why do you always do this?" I ask.  I don't know why I bother. I should just step off the gazebo and disappear.
"Do what?" she asks innocently.
"Act this way. Like you're playing some game. Like you're out to get me." I pause as the familiar fear courses through me. My heart pounds so hard in my chest it hurts. But instead of running away, I take a deep breath. "Why do you hate me so much, Leah?"
"Me?"

"The Agency: A Spy in the House" by Y. S. Lee

Insurance fraud.
Sunken ships.
Guilt money.
A ransacked office.
There was at least one more missing detail...

Mary Lang is a preteen girl living in the streets of Victorian era London. She picks pockets and breaks into houses to survive, until she is caught and sentenced to hang.
When she is miraculously rescued from the gallows and sent to Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, it's a new life. A life away from the crime and theivery she left behind. It's a new chance to be independent- a rare thing in Victorian era Britain.
But when Mary, now going with the last name of Quinn, finds herself yearning for more, she is hired by the headmistresses of the academy to work for The Agency- a top secret detective agency exclusively for women agents.
Mary's thrilled to be working for The Agency, and even more thrilled when she recieves her first assignment. Posing as a hired companion, she's to assist a more experienced agent in investigating missing ships containing smuggled items. But not all is as it seems in the household, and no one is who they appear to be.

Just before he caught her, she had a moment of sick premonition. It had been the same way the first time- the last time- she'd been caught. A flash of dread, of knowing. And then it happened.

I picked this book up from the library because I'm fascinated by the Victorian era. I decided that it looked interesting, took it home, and read it in what would amount to about 24 hours. It's a pretty fast read, particularly once you get more than halfway into it.

The interesting thing about this book is not just that the characters are amazing, but that it seems like an incredibly realistic portrayal of Victorian era London. The jacket says that the author completed her PhD in Victorian literature and culture, and studied London. You can definitely tell this while reading the book- she includes many details that make the backdrop of this book to be exciting and foreign- and yet utterly realistic.

The characters are also quite amazing- Particularly James and Mary (the main characters), who happen to have some of the most wonderfully witty lines that I've read for a while.
However, although I enjoy the characters, I find the plot to be a little meandering and it has a slightly confusing end in my opinion. There were several times when I had to go back and reread as section because I didn't quite catch what was going on. Several times also near the end things just seem to go a little too good for the characters, with Mary's mysterious instincts. I also didn't particularly like the end- it was a little abrupt and it made me a little sad.
Despite this, I consider it to be a good book and if I see more from this series, I will be getting them from the library.

"The Julian Game" by Adele Griffin

"All new girl Raye Archer wants is a way into the in crowd, so when ice-queen Ella Parker picks her to get back at her ex, the gorgeous Julian Kilgarry, Raye is more than game. Even if it means creating a fake Facebook identity so she can learn enough about Julian to sabotage him. It's a fun and dangerous thrill at first, but Raye hadn't counted on falling for Julian herself-and igniting Ella's rage."-goodreads (actually this is only 1/3 of the GR description, but it's the most necessary part AND the second part is *almost* spoiler-ish!)

I have been eager to pick up another one of Adele Griffin's *many* novels since reading "Tighter" (which was pretty amazing!). I'd heard good things about this one. Again, I really loved Adele's addictive, fast-paced, keeps-you-reading writing. It was another fairly short book at 200 pages and if it weren't for the necessity to get up early the next day I would've probably stayed up reading it all the way through like I did with Tighter. While a different sort of book entirely, I had the same 'what's going to happen next!?! This could go terribly wrong!! I must find out the end!!' thoughts while reading it. Even though "The Julian Game" is contemporary I had that scary movie suspense (don't open that closet! don't answer the door! NOOO) feeling throughout as well. 

I admit, I didn't like this one as much as Tighter. I think it was a good book and an important book because it's about things that can happen to anyone that uses the internet unwisely *cough*creatingafakepersontomanipulatesomeonenamedJulian*cough* (that's what happens in the book, anyway) and also backlash via the internet. Cyber-bullying. It's a serious problem. Even if Raye didn't necessarily make a good decision when staging the act of 'Elizabeth' to fool one of her peers, the backlash was worse. Those things happen all the time, sometimes it's on the news; kids have committed suicide because of cyber-bullying and its emotional impact just as with bullying at school or anywhere else-- it's a very real thing, is all. I never actually liked any of the characters especially because of their decision which often had me frustrated, but I didn't hate any of them either-- it was more of indifference.
Overall, I didn't love "The Julian Game" as much as I'd hoped, but I did adore the writing and thought the length was perfect.

"Jane Jones: Worst. Vampire. Ever." by Caissie St. Onge

For someone who had, prior to that week, never broken a school rule, I'd sure made up for it in two days. I'd become a one-woman crime wave! Okay, maybe just a one-girl minor-infraction machine. Still, I'd gotten pretty bold.

What do you think of when you hear "vampire"? Do you think, fabulous life style? Do you think, sexy undead creature who will never die? Do you think, Dracula?
You probably don't think, "Blood intolerant, flat chested, teenage girl from the Dust Bowl who is forced to live to eternity".
So, basically, you don't think of Jane Jones.

Jane's life is pretty wacked up. She's lived for years, moving around with her family, who just happen to also be vampires. Her brother is a genius, but forced to be a preteen forever. Her dad works long hours during the day (eesch), for minimal pay. Her mom wants to do her best for her daughter, but doesn't really know how, and Jane?
Esh.
If Jane's life sounds weird as it is, what's the adjective when
1. Her favorite teacher starts acting strangely
2. She's accused of being bullimic
3. Two boys, one alive one vampire, fall for her simultaneously
4. She finds a "cure for vampirism"?

Something sharp hit me right between the eyes and before I knew what was happening, I was on the floor defending my life. When I finally got the better of my attacker, I stood up and discovered, to my horror, I 'd been fighting with a pair of antique skis and a long moth-eaten wool robe that had fallen on me from what I now saw was an overstuffed closet.

This was a pretty... interesting book. Unusually, I actually found it humorous, and I enjoyed it. I liked the fact that Jane wasn't fabulously beautiful or rich, but on the other hand, I also think that that card has been played a little two often in the past few years. This is definitely not "good literature" but I don't think I lost any brain cells from reading it. I'd recommend it only as a "I'm bored what can I read" sort of book, or when you've read a big heavy book and need some fluff to recover from it. Or, you know, if you love vampires of all forms and are just looking for another book to read.

Also, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who can't take any jabs at the myths of vampires, vampire slayers, or teenagers.

"Anna and the French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

“Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.  As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?”-goodreads

Wow. This book surprised me. You’ve probably noticed by reading my reviews, I don’t read contemporary that often. I mean, sure, I like a good Sarah Dessen novel, I really liked The Summer I Turned Pretty books, and Five Flavors of Dumb is one of my new favorite books, BUT I read a lot more science-fiction/paranormal/dystopia/mystery/horror stuff as compared to anything supposedly based in reality. I’m not sure if that’s because I like to read about things other than reality or because I think most so-called ‘realistic’ fiction seems so very unrealistic to me, or something else, but regardless, picking this up was REALLY out of the norm. I mean, read the title and description, look at the cover. Geez. Chick-lit-y central, yes? In fact, I really wouldn’t have picked up this book, but I’ve read so many good reviews about it and I kept seeing it at libraries and bookstores and such and thought, hey, I’ll give it a try. It’s just a book. Maybe I’ll dislike it… but so what, you can’t like everything!

While out of my regular-reading-zone, this book amazed me. I pretty much loved it. Of course, I adored European-American love interest St. Clair, and I really liked Anna’s spunky sarcasm and intelligence, but that’s not all (I’m going to try to never say ‘that’s not all’ again because reading that in my head, it sounds like an infomercial). The flaws. If this book was anywhere near perfect, though nothing is, it was because of the character’s flaws. I realize that makes no sense. But it’s because everything wasn’t perfect. Anna and St. Clair didn’t immediately fall for each other. This book was not just completely about their puppy-love. This was not a simple scenario of, ‘girl goes to study abroad, finds perfect boyfriend, lives happily ever after, lalalalalala’. They had their problems and obstacles. There were other characters with the same. Their families were completely dysfunctional at best. I liked that a lot. Most importantly about Anna&St. Clair, first and even in the end I think, they weren’t just boyfriend/girlfriend. They were best friends. Also, the setting: amazing. Paris. So descriptive in a way that didn’t bore me at all, but I really got the feel of it. Additionally, I’m on my second year of French so when a character said something in French, rather than waiting for them to explain it or figuring out what they were saying in the context, I understood it.That has nothing to do with the book itself but I thought it was cool!

So I guess the moral of this story review, is that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover/description/concept (even if they're a total cheese-fest) or assume you won’t like it, heck, you shouldn’t judge that way in most areas of life-- gosh knows, you’ll probably be wrong, like me. :P

"The Wizard, the Witch, and Two Girls from Jersey" by Lisa Papademetriou

They had disappeared. All that was left was the copy of Queen of Twilight and two smoking coals.
The clerk stared for a minute, then did the only reasonable thing he could think of. He pressed a button on the intercom.
"We need a cleanup in the checkout aisle," he said.

What would you do if you were transported into a fantasy book with someone you were completely different from?
That's the situation that Heather and Veronica, two teenage girls, find themselves in when they both reach for the same copy of the school's assigned reading... The Queen of Twilight.
Suddenly, they're transported into a magical world.
And let's just say their journey doesn't start out so well.

After accidentally killing the heroine of the book, they're left in a pickle. Only one person can get them out of the book, and back home... But he doesn't get his powers back until the end of the (Real) book... And who knows how that's going to work now that the plot has already changed?
The only way to get out?

To play along to the end.
But as they try to battle the evil Queen of Twilight and her sisters, the Duchess of Breakable Objects and the Countess of Uncomfortable Humidity, they might find out that appearences can decieve...

"My, you dwarves have such cultured phrases," Chanttergee told Veronica s he listened to her, wide-eyed. "Would you teach Chattergee some of your foreign tongue?"
At that, Veronica unleashed some of her most creative and colorful expletives, which caused the squirrel to gasp in admiration and burst into applause.

DO read this book if you enjoy silliness.
DON'T read this book if you take your fantasy novels seriously.
DO read this book if you enjoy a quick read.
DON'T read this book if you get offended by people making fun of teenagers.
Because all of these things feature quite strongly in the book.

I, for one, rather enjoyed this book. Sure, sometimes both of the girls got on my nerves. Sure, it sort of annoyed me about the jabs at D&D being a "geek" game (even though it is).
But all in all?
It was really entertaining, and a fast read.
Everything that YA books dream of becoming...

"Lock and Key" by Sarah Dessen

“What happens when your past is not just past, but wiped clean entirely? How do you figure out where you’re going when you can’t even claim where you’ve been? These were the questions that inspired Lock and Key. It’s the story of a girl named Ruby who is abandoned by her mother and determined to make it on her own, even—and especially—when she is sent to live with her long-lost sister in a whole new world of privilege, family, and relationships. As Ruby learns, there’s a big difference between being given help and being able to accept it. And sometimes, it takes reaching out to someone else to save yourself.” - Sarah Dessen's website

This is the second Sarah Dessen book I’ve read, the first being The Truth About Forever. I guess everyone’s right, she’s amazing! Her writing is so gorgeous. It’s very descriptive and emotionally charged, she makes you FEEL the characters, everything seeming so real. I might have felt kind of disconnected from Ruby if it weren’t for that, but I didn’t. The whole story is full of Ruby (and sometimes Nate’s) raw emotions and that made the whole thing more enjoyable. I felt so bad and so confused for Ruby, after her mom’s disappearance. I had a feeling of what Cora would tell her, and that Ruby’s impressions weren’t necessarily true, and I was right. (What am I talking about? I’ll give you my usual answer: read the book.)

My favorite character was probably Jamie, he tried to hard for Cora and Ruby to give them what they never had and be there for them. He was hilarious, too. The whole UMe thing was quite funny too. I liked all of the characters, actually (well, all the good characters, anyway). Olivia was great and I could really appreciate her helping Ruby… and Gervais was just amusing. The only qualm I have with the characters (and really, this is my qualm with the book in general, though not that bad) was Nate. I liked Nate, I liked how Ruby and him got along and could relate, they kind of needed each other, BUT I never really got to like him that much… despite his emotions showing through sometimes and his action, I never felt a connection to him as a character, and I missed that, I think that might’ve helped me love the book rather than just quite liking it, though I’m not sure why it effected me so.

"Imaginary Enemy" by Julie Gonzalez

Dear Bubba,
Remember when I asked you to hook me up with some visibility cream? Well, forget that. I don't need it anymore. Send vanishing cream instead. I really need to disappear.
Insincerely,
Harriet Hairdresser
(Alias Gabriel)

Jane has always survived in the same way.
Being a slacker, being sarcastic, mouthing off, not doing her homework, and writing letters to Bubba.
Bubba?
Short for Beelzebub.

Bubba is her imaginary enemy, and Jane blames him for everything in her life that goes wrong. A milk spill? It's Bubba's fault. Something stupid she says? Bubba put the words in her mouth.
Let's face it. It's just easier to blame everything on someone who doesn't exist, than it is to face up to the things that are going wrong.

And when Jane's relationships with her next door neighbors, with herself, and with her life in general start going downhill, that's exactly who she blames.
Bubba.

But what if she gets a letter back?

"You two little spies really need a new hobby,"   I said, reaching for my math book. "Have you considered stamp collecting? Quilting? Drowning each other?"

This is probably one of the more imaginative books I've read this year. (Get it? Imaginative? heh.) I usually think about imaginary friends, and how they are awesome, but I don't usually consider how the opposite would work. But this author did, and it was very interesting.

I really liked the character of Jane, but I think my absolute favorite character would have to be her half brother, Luke. Luke is a pretty cool guy. (But like I said. I like Jane as well.)

The thing I really didn't like was the main character's reaction to homeschoolers. When her next door neighbors and her brother and sister become homeschooled, she's very negative about it. I also think that the author portrayed homeschoolers in a fairly negative light, but that might just be me and my biased position.

I don't really have much else to say on this book, except that it was very well written, and very, very funny. And witty. The main character's jabs and remarks were just so creative it was hard not for my mind to be boggled.

Oh. And it's a short read. ☺

"The Lost Crown" by Sarah Miller

"Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia--like the fingers on a hand, Tatiana the tallest, Anastasia the smallest, Maria the one most desperate for a ring. These are the daughters of the Tsar, the daughters of the last royal Russian family. Acclaimed author Sarah Miller writes with lyricism, criticism and true compassion as she tracks this loving cluster of sisters from the decks of their yacht to the prison walls of their final home. What do abdication and revolution mean to these young women? Told through each of their voices in alternating chapters, we see their day-to-day lives, in many ways, remain the same; they dote on their dogs, flirt with the soldiers, and are followed constantly by guards. But their desires for the future have all but disappeared. As conditions worsen and the provisional government loses power to the Bolsheviks, the girls huddle together to make sense of what is happening. At the same time hopeful and hopeless, naÏve and wise, their voices become a chorus singing the final song of Imperial Russia."-goodreads

The Lost Crown was a fascinating novel. I love historical fiction, especially when it's about a period that I might not have known much about before going into the novel. I didn't know THAT much about Imperial Russia, so this book was very interesting and fresh for me.

The settings were ornate and as the points of view alternated things became different. An interesting point about this novel is that for every chapter the point of view is from a different one of the daughters. I found this really good, and switching up the perspectives did freshen the story a bit each time. The only qualm that I have with that is at times, especially near the beginning, the story switched character's narratives without really changing, but after a while and getting used to it I didn't feel that way at all. 


The way this story was done is just interesting, deciding to do it from the daughter's points of view and showing their side of the story. Sarah Miller seems to have done fantastic job capturing what they would've been like and must have done an impeccable amount of research to pull of this book. Overall, it was a fascinating historical YA with very unique insight on the inside of a period of history that you might not have known much about before. A great read! 


Thank you to Simon&Schuster for giving me the opportunity to review this book. Reader's Note: As always, my reviews are unbiased. Thanks! :)

"Uncommon Criminals" by Ally Carter

"Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.
There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long — and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous, and that is . . . the emerald is cursed.
Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all, she has her best friend — the gorgeous Hale — and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses and realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.
Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules."-goodreads
Uncommon Criminals is my favorite book that I’ve read by Ally Carter so far! It was thrilling, captivating, witty, and interesting sequel to Heist Society! While you could probably read Uncommon Criminals without having read Heist Society-- I definitely recommend that you do though, it was amazing as well!

One of my favorite things about both Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals is that they’re very intelligent books. All of the characters are rather witty, especially Kat. There’s random facts and bits of trivial information scattered over each page, which helps to make everything so interesting.  The settings of Uncommon Criminals (as well as its predecessor) are impeccable. The book takes place all over the world, and it’s written so that you can see all in brilliant depth in your mind.

The voice is amazing. The writing flows at a perfect pace, never a dull moment or a slow spot-- but never so fast that you miss anything major. The characters are great (again)! Kat is very relatable and a grand heroine for the books. Hale is still… HALE. J Very likeable and loyal to Kat and the gang. There are so many surprising elements to the story, and there are even bits toward the end where you, the reader, feels as though they’re being conned-- but not in a bad way-- because everything is not what it seems.

Overall, if you liked Heist Society you absolutely must read Uncommon Criminals. If you haven’t read Heist yet, you have to do that. Now. These books are awesome! I really, REALLY hope that there is a third (or 10. Never enough heists, you know.)  book.

"The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

"Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has just awoken from a year-long coma — so she’s been told — and she is still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. But what happened before that? She’s been given home movies chronicling her entire life, which spark memories to surface. But are the memories really hers? And why won’t anyone in her family talk about the accident? Jenna is becoming more curious. But she is also afraid of what she might find out if she ever gets up the courage to ask her questions. What happened to Jenna Fox? And who is she really?"-goodreads


The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a really addictive read. There are constant new developments, character depth always increasing, suspense building, and the all-around mystery entices you to read one more page.... another page... just one more, until you've finished the book. It's not broken up into your average chapters but into parts. Some sections are interrupted by gray pages with free-verse sort of poems by Jenna, which really show her feelings and deepen the connection that the reader automatically has with her. It's brilliant.


Jenna is a really fascinating character. What I felt was probably the greatest aspect of the whole book is that since you only know the story as she figures it out --although sometimes there are hints along the way that she doesn't pick up on and you probably will-- there's a whole air of suspense. WHO is Jenna? WHAT is Jenna? WHY is Jenna? Those are all questions that will keep drifting through your head as you read it. It's another one of those *dundundun* books that make you think. The whole book is basically about her, and gosh I've never thought a character could make up most of the plot successfully, but it did. I felt a real connection with Jenna the whole time as well.


The other characters were also good, well-developed as they could be. Another fascinating aspect was the changing of views of the parents. Throughout the book I saw them as normal, controlling, mean, evil, good, considerate, and caring; some of those at the same time and not in that order. 


The whole aspect of what Jenna was and leaving it for you to decide just as it was for her to decide whether it was 'right' or not was really good. The ending wrapped things up in a way you wouldn't expect, not a cliffhanger. One of those ones where you kind of make your own mind up about whether it was right/wrong/whatever. The whole consideration of science vs. natural order of things is just intelligent in the book. I didn't think this book was a series and I guess it wasn't going to be but there's a sequel, "The Fox Inheritance" coming out in August which I really look forward to!

"The Fallen" (Nine Lives of Chloe King, #1) by Celia Thomson

"Chloe King was a normal sixteen-year-old girl.
She did her homework and got good grades, but she wasn't afraid to ditch class sometimes to hang out with her best friends. She slept at home, but otherwise avoided all human contact with her mom. The usual stuff.
Then she fell from San Francisco's highest tower, and her life changed. For starters, she died. And then, she woke up.
Now Chloe's life is anything but normal: Suddenly guys are prowling around her, she's growing claws, and someone's trying to kill her.
Luckily for Chloe, she still has eight lives to go."-goodreads

I picked up The Nine Lives of Chloe King series at my library because of the upcoming show on ABC family. I saw a promo for the show and thought it looked good so I figured I’d give the first book a try. I still plan on catching the premiere on a re-run and trying the show, but I don’t plan on continuing the book series. It didn’t really work for me, but I’ll say why because what didn’t work for me might not bother you. I also realize that if I pushed through the whole series I might have a better over-all view because of what I had a problem with.

The writing wasn’t bad. It wasn’t slow. I didn’t hate any of the characters. I liked Chloe although she got on my nerves once in a while… My problem was that I feel the main plot that was portrayed by the title and the summary, about Chloe being, well, part cat or however that works…. Nothing really happened with that in “The Fallen”. Chloe experiences weird things, but she doesn’t really get to the even vague root of what was actually going on until towards the end of the book. Considering how often we get to see the whole nine lives/cat thing going on and the way it’s wrapped up at the end, it almost seems like an emerging sub-plot. Maybe that was what it was supposed to be, but it’s not what I expected. The last few pages seemed more like the climax. I don’t know how the second book goes, but maybe it seemed like it shouldn’t have been split up like it was. The three books are not that long individually though, I know, so maybe I would have liked it better as one or two books? Anyway. I don’t know. A lot of it was just playing at my nerves. Seriously though, I’ll be giving the show a try because it was interesting. I also might read the next two books, just not right now. The whole book actually almost seemed like a movie in my head, so I imagine it translates really well to screen.

If a book that’s about a girl that might be part feline and is also just dealing with normal 16-year-old stuff even more so, and that doesn’t bother you at all, you might like it! 

"The Goddess Test" by Aimee Carter

"It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.
If she fails..."-goodreads

I love, love, LOVE mythology. (Of all kinds!) I also love modern stories with a lot of involvement of mythology. Then, as I keep mentioning, it’s very important to me to feel connected to the main character and (hopefully) like them as well. The Goddess Test had all of the those elements going strong. It was also a fascinating story that had unexpected twists, and other great characters as well. It also has a lot of detailed writing without it seeming like the whole thing is being dragged out. The beginning of the book is a lot of setup for the rest of the story, but I thought it was necessary, and I also thought it was nice to get a bit of background before the story really got going.

While it’s a book pertaining majorly to mythology as you would expect by the title/summary, Aimee Carter did a really good job of almost having you believe the whole thing, making it all seem real, which is really great-- I read a lot of paranormal books that are good but they don’t even come close to ‘seeming real’. The portrayal of the greek gods, especially Henry as Hades was fascinating and really well done.

Kate’s character was great. She was relatable, and also a strong heroine. She’s a character that has been through a lot through her mother’s illness and trying to be strong the whole time while feeling the world on her shoulders and never getting to feel like a real teenager. Henry was very interesting. The relationship of Kate and Henry was really nice, and something I admired greatly was that there was no ‘insta-love’ factor that I see so often. The whole cast of characters was really well developed for me; I felt that I knew a lot of the side characters really well which doesn’t always happen for me, sometimes it just seems like I only really know one or two main characters.

All in all, it was a fascinating book that packed a punch of mythology and awesomeness. I look forward to Goddess Interrupted which comes out in January 2012!

"The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks" by E. Lockhart

"Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:Debate Club.
Her father's "bunny rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.
Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.
Frankie Landau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer.
Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society.
Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew's lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.
Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:Possibly a criminal mastermind.
This is the story of how she got that way."-goodreads

I mean, READ THE DESCRIPTION. Read it. Doesn't that sound witty/epic/amazing? This book is just plain LEGIT. I couldn’t think of a better word for it. I loved pretty much everything about it, and wish I had read it before-- if only because by now I would’ve been on my billionth or so re-read. The characters, the story, and the voice… Just amazing!

The voice. This has to be my favorite thing about the book. It was different than anything else I’ve ever read, so extremely unique. Words! There were word-plays, grammar geeking out, a copy-editor boyfriend, and even out of the story, just the narration, WORDS were used. When I say words I mean peculiar words that you don’t use often, advanced words, whatever you like but the way they were used was awesome. The book was just plain intelligent, without being overly so like it was unrealistic or you have to look up words or something.

The characters. Frankie is awesome. She’s probably my new favorite female protagonist in YA, as well as one I could really identify it. She was sarcastic, intelligent, and ambitious. There are lots of sarcastic/smart/whatever characters in the world but Frankie’s character development was pretty much flawless and I think it was also very realistic. She was very smart but she also seemed like a normal teenager. The other characters were fabulous too, Trisha, Frankie’s roommate was likeable and had a personality although we didn’t see that much of her. When she was around in the story she was really epic because her mom was a psychologist, so whenever she was giving Frankie advice and such she always did everything with psychological stuff and it was fascinating. The boys, the bassets, the dogs, whatever you’d like to call them were great too, all in their own ways.

The story of the bassets and the secret societies and the story of the school was great as well. The school being designed the way it was with its traditions and suitably its secrets or ‘secret organizations’ were good too. All very interesting.

Anyway. Sorry for the huge review but I just didn’t know how else to do this book justice. It was so legitimate. Intelligent, humorous, fascinating, very quirky, just all around a great book!

"Aphrodite's Blessings; Love Stories From the Greek Myths" by Clemence McLaren

"If I were racing against someone as handsome as Milanion," Filomena said, "I'd let him win... by just a little." She gestured with thumb and index finger.

Atalanta, princess, has been brought up to be an athlete. When her father and his advisers decide, however, that she must get married, she is terrified. The fate of married women is clear- to be kept inside all the time, except with their husband.
But it gets worse.
Her father decrees that if any man can win a race against Atalanta, they will be her husband, and rule over Arcadia. But if they lose? Death.
Atalanta doesn't want the men to die... But which is worse? To marry away your life... Or to destroy someone else's?
...
Everyone knows not to boast too much. Say the wrong thing, and the gods will punish you thoroughly.
Well.
Maybe not everyone.
Andromeda's mother is beautiful... And boastful. When she says that she and her daughter are more beautiful than all the daughters of Poseidon, everyone is worried, except for her. Andromeda is engaged to a wealthy (if short and old) man, she's still beautiful, and the gods never really pay attention to mortals... do they?
But, if the myths are true, and the queen is wrong... How are they to be punished?
...
Psyche has been gifted with amazing beauty, but it seems like it won't do her any good. When a message from a god comes, however, telling Psyche's family to wed her to a mysterious "Lord of the Hidden Valley", Psyche is hopeful.
But even when all seems well, trouble comes in the form of a jealous sister. When Psyche unknowingly ruins her happiness, how far is she willing to go to get it, and the man she loves, back?

Everyone admired my courage, yet it wasn't really courage. I simply wasn't as frightened as they expected me to be. I was actually relieved that I would not have to look at my father's solemn face, or listen to my sisters whispering about me any longer. Even in a wealthy family, an unmarried girl is a burden, because of the shame she brings. I was ready to remove that burden.

I quite liked this book. Greek myths fascinate me (heck, all myths fascinate me), and it was interesting seeing them written out in this way, from the girl's point of view. I found a lot of them to be much more emotional this way, and the characters were interesting.

However. The problem I had with this book was mostly about the last story, of Psyche. I like the story, but I did not like how things just seemed to happen in her favor, with no explanation. I know this isn't the author's fault, but what I do credit the author with is saying something along the lines of "I wouldn't know why until later", and then just not explaining it after all.

Besides that, though, I did like this book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the stories anyway.

"We'll Always Have Summer" by Jenny Han (Summer, #3) +Giveaway!

The conclusion to the Summer series by Jenny Han! Preceded by The Summer I Turned Pretty and It's Not Summer Without You.

I actually can't post a summary for this because it will kind of completely spoil stuff. I can't even say much about the book, but I will say things!

I really love this series. I love how it's more than meets the eye, and how deep and emotional the whole thing is. Jenny Han's very visual, very emotional, very real writing really completes the awesome package that is the series! Admittedly, I preferred the first two books, maybe they were less dramatic, whatever it was. However, this one was a great conclusion to the Summer series. Belly finally gets married... but to who? You'll have to read the Summer series to find out. As in It's Not Summer Without You, the whole story isn't told by Belly. Except, instead of Jeremiah narrating some parts, it's Conrad. I found this really enjoyable, a nice addition. I did like who Belly ended up with and the way Mrs. Han ended the series, and I think you readers will too!
Thank you S&S for the early copy for review of this finale. 

But, that's not all. (woah. I sound like Billy Mays.) To celebrate the end of the series, which I've really liked even though I didn't *really* expect too, I'm giving away a copy of the We'll Always Have Summer. I hope if you read this series you enjoy it as much as I did. Just fill out the below form. lease read the rules and follow them when you enter! Giveaway over, thanks for participating!

"Moonglass" by Jessi Kirby

May 3rd, 2011
"I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now, I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both.
Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love- a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.
While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried along the shore years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide means that nothing- not the sea glass that she collects on the sand and not the truths behind Anna's mother's death- stays buried forever."-goodreads

Moonglass is a deeply impressive debut novel. It was just fabulous! It reminded me of Sarah Dessen (The Truth About Forever), who happened to blurb the book. Slightly reminiscent of Jenny Han (The Summer I Turned Pretty) which I just read. Definitely on the most emotional and powerful books I've ever read. The writing was vivid and addictive. I found the protagonist, Anna, very easy to relate to in general and rather likable in comparison to some that I've read lately.


The setting of the book was beautiful, and I could see it in my mind so clearly thanks to Kirby's amazing writing. Anna's story coming full circle, starting with relocating to the beach where her parents met was moving. The ongoing theme that was the moonglass was great, one of my favorite elements. The way more and more pieces of the story of her mother's death came together (and that we learned more and more as we read the story) was so great as well. 


I enjoyed all of the characters. Ashley was really funny and sweet. Tyler was great. Anna's dad and his dedication and that he was trying so hard was good too. I really, really liked Anna, as I said before. The REPENT man was a great element, and his story. I never expected that or the role he would eventually play. I didn't expect what was almost the end of Anna's story to happen.... 


Anyway, I keep *almost* spoiling things here, so I'll just finish with saying that Moonglass is an amazing book. If you want a very emotional, very vivid, beautiful read, you should really pick it up! Fabulous. I can't wait to read what Jessi Kirby writes next!

Thank you, Simon&Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Readers Note: As usual, this in no way effects my opinion, as always, my review is unbiased!

Chicks with Sticks (It's a Purl Thing) by Elizabeth Lenhard

"Oooh, check out the badass knitter." Tay laughed. "Keep her away from any spray-pant cans, you guys. She's gonna start leaving tags in alleys."
Scottie straightened up suddenly.
"You just gave me another idea," she said.
"Oh no," Tay said, flinging her stripy scarf around her neck. "No more! I've had all the bonding I can handle for one night."
What do you do when your best friend seems to have totally turned on you?
What do you do when your favorite aunt has just died?
What do you do when your mom and dad are distant, and look through you not at you?
What do you do when your life is falling apart?

These are the questions Scottie has to ask herself. She doesn't really have any answers, until her great aunt teaches her to knit. Suddenly, even though she's labeled as a geek, a nerd, and undesirable, everything seems to be okay. It's like the yarn and the needles are magic. Or maybe it's just KnitWit, the knitting shop she starts taking lessons at.
But whatever is magic, there certainly seems to be some.
When Amanda starts knitting with Scottie too, and they are joined by two new friends, Tay and Bella, everything seems to be going right for Scottie.
But how long can the knitting keep it's magic?
Bella lowered her hand and allowed herself a little smile.
"Thanks, you guys," she squeaked. "This stuff would be twice as scary without you. I mean, I feel like I don't even know who I am all of a sudden. But I also have this incredible urge to figure it out, like, immediately."
I, personally, found this book incredibly entertaining.
It was witty, funny, interesting... The knitting terms were completely correct, and I loved the way that the author made everything seem so serious, at the same time that the book itself didn't exactly seem to take itself seriously.

The only few problems I had with this book were that (a) I'm not exactly sure I liked how the author portrayed homeschoolers (Bella is a homeschooler. Bella is also a nutjob.), and (b) I found a lot of the "no one is seeing me as myself!" things annoying, when none of the characters were actually acting like themselves.

But besides that, I liked this book. I'd give it 3 stars, and recommend it in particular to female teen knitters. ;)

"The Summer I Turned Pretty" by Jenny Han

"Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along."-goodreads

I have had several people recommend I read this book. It looked cute. It looked like one of those very straightforward, predictable, fluffy beach reads. I was in the mood for a light read, so I thought I'd pick this up. I was wrong. I still enjoyed it. It was still a tad light/girly/fluffy at times, but, it was MUCH more. 


Read the description, think of the title, take a look at the cover. You can't tell me you don't think the plot is like this: Girl hangs out with two boys for her whole life. They're friends, but, girl discovers that she'd like them to be MORE than friends. Girl falls in love with one/both of the boys. Yay. It works out. Dundundun blahblahblah happily ever after! However, the people that recommended me this book told me it was a lot more than what it sounded like, and I believed them. I'm so glad I believed them.

There are much deeper issues in this book. The plot is not straightforward. Most importantly, THE WRITING. The way the story was told, just the way it was written, that's probably my favorite part. The whole book takes place in summers. The main part of the book is in the summer where Belly is almost 16, but as the story progresses there are chapters of flashbacks to previous summers, with related stories to what's going on now and I loved that! It contributed so much important back story when it was needed and helped explain how everything was the way it was. The writing itself is really good too, distinct and clear.

I really appreciated that there were deeper themes and problems running through the book, parent's separations, divorces, and the lack of a father figure: complex family relationships. The impact of Belly's ever-since-she-was-little crush on Conrad. Susannah's illness. They all made this book more complicated, in a good way, and brought deep emotions out in all of the characters.


I really don't have anything bad to say about this book. I'm actually not the biggest fan of the main character, Belly, because I thought she was a little bit hard to connect to because she's a little bit whiny and she just had... interesting logic at times, but I think she was still pretty realistically a teenage girl, and her emotions felt real. I didn't mind that Belly annoyed me sometimes, it doesn't really impact my opinion on the book.


Overall, The Summer I Turned Pretty is a beach-y, coming of age sort of novel with actual substance. It's not your average fluffy-girly-beach book. I'm really looking forward to reading the second one. Read it. :)

"Cloaked" by Alex Flinn

"I'm not your average hero. I actually wasn't your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all. It all started with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.
There wasn't a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I've ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades.
Don't believe me? I didn't believe it either. But you'll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got cloaked."-goodreads

I really like Alex Flinn's modern takes on fairy tales, and this is no exception. Cloaked is different than Flinn's previous fairy tale related books, as rather than the book focusing on one or two mainstream sorts of fairy tales, the book contains elements from a lot of different, lesser-known fairy tales. I never would have known that, the book didn't seem like it was slapped together, the plot was combined rather seamlessly. It was very interesting, probably more so that her other books, just in the way that you didn't really know what to expect since it's not like a fairy tale you've ever heard of.

Cloaked was not what I expected it to be. Looking back to before I read the book, I'm not particularly sure what I did expect. I don't mean this in a bad way, but the book just seems a little different then the description. I'm having a really hard time articulating this, sorry. I think the description made Johnny, our protagonist, sound a lot like Jack from A Kiss in Time or a bit like Kyle from Beastly. He was a little bit similar, but I also thought he was a lot different, if nothing else, because Jack seemed a little bit cocky at times just like Kyle. Confident. Johnny wasn't like that. It made the whole story seem a bit different from Flinn's other fairy tale books. This could be my imagination, but this review is for my opinion, right? It wasn't a bad thing, either, just something to note.

Other than that, while telling a different story, I felt that Cloaked was very similar to Flinn's other fairy tale adaptions. I felt Cloaked shared the same strengths and probably the same weaknesses as Beastly and A Kiss in Time. I don't mean this in a bad way as if I felt that I was reading the same thing or that it was boring, they're just similar. Overall, I enjoyed Cloaked and recommend it to anyone looking for a not-so-traditional fairy tale, as I recommend Alex Flinn's other books. I also really want to read Breaking Point, as it's a contemporary un-related to fairy tales (Alex Flinn has several of those.) and I'm interested to see how it is!